Monthly Archives: June 2018

“The Long War”

On June 30, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

I met him in a church basement, a few days into my service in The Long War.  He was old and grizzled and his face was scarred from many a wound.  He was drinking his coffee black, no sugar.

“Come sit down, young soldier,” he growled, somewhere between an invitation and an order.

I sat.

He looked me up and down.  We sat in silence.  His eyes came to rest on my eyes, looking not so much at, as through.  Finally, his voice cut through the silence.

“So, you are new to The Resistance, I see.”

I nodded.

“No scars yet.  Don’t worry, son, you’ll have plenty before they dump you in a grave.  Likely as not, it’ll be unmarked, and no one will weep.”

He leaned toward me, but his gaze was fixed on my soul still.  “Would you like some advice?  Who knows?  It might keep you out of the grave for a little while.”

I nodded.  I was in way over my head, and I knew it.  What was I thinking when I decided to rebel?  Or was I thinking?  But here I was—cold, and lonely, and scared, wondering how long it would be before I was as old and beat up as this warrior.

“I’m only thirty-two,” he said, apparently reading what I had been thinking.  What might have passed for a smile faded from his face before it could be positively identified.  “Still, I was young not so long ago, like you.  And I thought the war would be over by now.  I know better now.  I know now why they call this “The Long War”.

He sat back, and took a sip of his coffee, and grimaced.  “Some fool has let my coffee get cold,” he said.  He drank the rest of his coffee in two gulps, and sat the cup down on the table, none too gently.

“And now for the advice,” he said.

“The enemy don’t give a damn about fightin’ fair.  The enemy don’t care whether it kills you by night or by day.  And the enemy don’t sleep.

“You’ll be alone, and the enemy will stick a knife in your back, or you’ll be with your comrades, and the enemy will pick you out and pick you off.

“Nine times out of ten, you won’t even see the enemy, but rest assured, the enemy is still there.

“You could surrender, you know.  You’ll want to do that a thousand times.  But remember that the enemy takes no prisoners, except to torture and use for propaganda.  And, of course, the enemy will kill you in the end, anyway.

“There will be times when you’ll think it would be best to end it all yourself, choose your own time, your own method.  But then you’ll remember that there might be someone who loves you, and that you are part of the Resistance, and you’ll fight on, even when you don’t feel like it, even when you want to die.

“The enemy will turn your family against you, friends will desert you, and you’ll be called a terrorist by people who don’t even want to admit there’s a war.  But there’s a war alright.  And you’re a soldier now, and you are the battlefield.  And remember one thing more.”

Here, he paused to make sure I was with him, and not merely thinking about how to escape this basement, this man, this reality.  When he was sure that I was captured, he said,

“And one thing more, you must never forget: You are also the enemy!”

He pushed his chair back from the table to get another cup of coffee.

“And you are also the enemy!”

“Also the enemy!”

“Also the enemy!”

I stumbled out the door to face the darkness, to face the enemy, to face my addiction.

But not alone!  Not alone!

 

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“Of Fathers Day and Regrets”

On June 18, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Father’s Day: Oh God, how I hate this day!

It is not that I hated my children or being a father.  But I hate the kind of father I was.

Of course, I helped to give them life and I helped keep them alive.  However, even there, my wife did all the heavy lifting.  I could have been, should have been, so much more.

Today, I sent my 12-step affirmation to my friend Will.  It goes like this:

Today, by God’s grace, I am celebrating the memory of my own earthly father, the “fatherhood” of all who have mentored me over the years, and God’s perfect fatherliness.  I am also encouraging other fathers today.

It is easy to say, but difficult to stay with these things.  Regret is easy—and deadly.  I am eaten up with regrets.

Will even Heaven heal me?

. . .

And the answer is a resounding “YES!”  I went for an early morning bike ride in my community just as the sun was coming up.  Several things occurred to me.

One was that regrets are absolutely useless.  They accomplish precisely nothing.  Less than nothing!  They sap my energy, and keep me from living a loving life.  Jesus cursed a fig tree that wasn’t producing any figs.  Apparently, uselessness is not the sort of thing that Jesus was willing to put up with.  Needing forgiveness?  Yes, Jesus could handle that!  Uselessness?  No!

Regrets are also dangerous.  As I was riding my bike, I thought to myself that regrets were a lot like looking back while riding a bike.  So, I tried an experiment.  While continuing to ride my bike, I looked back for a few seconds . . . and almost ran into a parked car.

Finally, regrets dishonor God.  Do I really think that God can’t forgive me?  The Old Testament indicates that God can and does.  The New Testament demonstrates this at the cross.  My regrets are, in fact, a form of atheism.

Then, I got ready and went to church.  The pastor talked about consumerism (he is against it), versus having “enough” (which he is for).  It was a good sermon, but the very last thing he said was what nailed me and, at the same moment, set me free.  He was talking about 4 things we could do in order to know that we had enough.

  1. We need to realize that the secret to contentment is Jesus.
  2. We need to stop looking around and start looking up.
  3. We need to focus more on the “Do’s” than the “Don’ts”.
  4. We need to stop living in the Shoulda-Coulda-Woudas.

I realized that I had been living with regrets all my life, and that it was time to kick them out and change the locks.  This has been done.

Of course, I have no illusions.  Regrets will try to sneak back in again.  However, I’ve decided that whenever they do, I’ll let Jesus answer the door.  He’ll know how to handle such intruders.  Who needs a 38, when you got Jesus?!

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“OF SECOND CHANCES AND SOUL FAMINE”

On June 8, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“ ‘The time is surely coming,’ says the Sovereign LORD, ‘when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the LORD.

  People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from border to border searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.

  Beautiful girls and strong young men will grow faint in that day, thirsting for the LORD’s word.’ ”  (Amos 8:11-13a,italics mine, New Living Translation)

My father-in-law was one of the wisest, humblest, most godly men I’ve ever known.  His daughter, my wife, is much like him.  But it was almost not so for my father-in-law.  He almost missed it.

“I did not feel the call of the Holy Spirit as strongly the second night.  It scared me so badly that I went forward to the alter, confessed my sins, and prayed to receive Christ into my heart and life.”

My father-in-law was explaining how he came to faith in Jesus Christ.  He was a teen-ager, and brought up in church, but he was at the point of deciding whether to accept or reject what he had been taught by his parents.

He was at a revival meeting.  He felt the power of the Holy Spirit, convincing him that he was a sinner, that he needed a savior, and that Jesus Christ was that Savior.  My father-in-law said, ‘I felt strong hands on my shoulders, and looked around to see who was touching me.  No one was.  Well, no one I could see.  But I didn’t go to the altar. I didn’t pray.  I didn’t trust Christ.  I went home miserable.

“The next night, I went back to revival meetings, still miserable.  When they gave the invitation, I felt the hands on my shoulders again.  But this time, they weren’t as strong.  I realized I was becoming hardened to the call of God in my life.  It scared me so badly that I went forward to the alter, confessed my sins, and prayed to receive Christ into my heart and life.”

We all need second chances.  Thank God, many of us get them.  I myself have gotten so many more “second chances” than just two!

However, while many of us get them, no one is guaranteed even one second chance.  Life is dynamic, and can turn on a dime.

The ancient kingdom of Israel, comprised of the 10 northern tribes which had broken away from Judah, were given a chance to repent.  God sent Amos (a Judahite) to cry out against the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  He did.  However, they would not listen.  The king and the priests were in cahoots, and did not want to hear that they needed to repent.  After all, they were the leaders!  Who did this upstart, foreign “prophet” (who didn’t even claim to be a prophet, according to Amos 7:14) think he was, anyway!

Amos did not just speak God’s Word.  He also warned that there would come a time when people would search for the Word of God, would thirst for it, and yet not find it.  Presuming on a second chance means that we have not taken our first chance seriously.  Presuming on a second chance may well mean that we won’t get one.  There may well come a time when (in the words of Billy Joel), “She’ll ask for the truth, but she’ll never believe you.”

Am I using “scare tactics”?

Yes, I am!

But I believe that there are some things we really should be afraid of—afraid enough to allow God to change us.  Why should we be dying of thirst, when there is the river of life available to us all?

Why indeed!

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“PROPHETS AND PREDICTORS”

On June 5, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

I am currently teaching a class on biblical prophets, especially, the Old Testament prophets.  One of the most difficult things for my students to wrap their mind around is the idea that the prophets are not primarily predictors of the distant future.

Notice that I said that they are “. . . not primarily predictors . . . .”  I do believe that the prophets could and did predict the future.  However, I do not believe that this was their main task.

Well then, what was their main task?

I suspect that the main task of the prophet was to call God’s people back to their main tasks: to trust and obey God, which involved God’s people cultivating personal integrity and a fair society.

One of the things that the prophets especially emphasized was the need to take good care of the weakest members of their society: widows, orphans, foreigners, the poor.  Those who just looked after themselves were the targets of some of the prophets’ sternest condemnations.

And yet, all of these things—trust, obedience, personal integrity, and a fair society that takes care of those on the margin—are connected.  Without trust in God, obedience, integrity, and fairness are difficult to pull off.  Believe me, I’ve tried it without God!

I have to admit that there are certainly some atheists who are better at integrity and fairness than many who at least say they believe in God.  Granted.

However, if there is a God who is good and wise and powerful, it might be more effective to involve that God in our striving for personal integrity and a fair society.

Now, let me bring this brief blog full circle.  The prophets did predict the future.  However, it was not primarily the distant future.  Rather, they predicted the immediate future.  And the prophets contended that God was very much involved in this immediate future.  With God, the future of God’s people, and indeed all the people of the world, would be good.  Without God, bad things were coming.

That’s a pretty simple prediction, isn’t it?  Well, the prophets weren’t generally into being subtle.  They were generally into Truth.

 

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“OF QUESTS AND ADVENTURES”

On June 5, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink– even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk– it’s all free!

2 Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.

3 “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.

4 See how I used him to display my power among the peoples. I made him a leader among the nations.

5 You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.”

6 Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.

7 Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.

8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

10 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.

11 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

12 You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!

13 Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the LORD’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.” (Isaiah 55:1-13)

An addiction workbook that I am working through encourages us, as part of step 11, to go on a spiritual quest.

So, to slightly alter the question of a Monte Python character, I am asking myself, “What is my quest?”  For what am I searching?

I could say God, but I’m not sure that God is lost.  Isn’t God (if there is such a being) everywhere and every-when present?

Yes, I believe that there is a God and that God is always present.  In fact, both the Old and New Testaments teach that God seeks us.  From the question, “Where are you, man?” in Genesis 3:9, to the invitation of the Spirit and the bride to come to the water of life in Revelation 22:17, God is the seeker and we are the sought.

And yet, we are also told to seek the LORD.  In the words of Isaiah 55:6, “Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.”  So, in reality, my quest is for the God who is questing for me.

This quest, this seeking of God, involves two important things I will need to abandon, and two crucial things God will provide.  I need to change my wicked ways and abandon my evil thoughts.  And the crucial things that God provides are forgiveness and God’s own thoughts.

I knew there must be a catch to this quest business!

Now, changing my ways isn’t easy.  But abandoning evil thoughts—man is that hard!  And accepting God’s forgiveness would involve taking seriously the evil within me.  And what if God’s thoughts aren’t my thoughts?  In fact, Isaiah sets point blank that God’s thoughts are not my thoughts.

And yet, this is abandoning of my ways and ways of thinking, and accepting God’s way is the very way to forgiveness.  I can hold on to my wicked ways and evil thoughts, or I can be willing to let go of them, and allow God’s forgiveness to have its way with me.  Some people act as if forgiveness is easy.  I flat out do not agree!

And then there’s the matter of God’s thoughts.  Apparently having been willing to seek God, turn from my wicked ways and evil thoughts, and having experienced God’s forgiveness, I now need to concentrate on God’s thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Isaiah 55:10-13 sound wonderfully refreshing.  However, seeking God sounds like a lot of work, especially if it involves changing my wicked ways and forsaking my evil thoughts.  I have gotten attached to those ways and thoughts!  And, of course, they are not really that wicked—maybe.

On second thought, maybe I’ll just roll back over and go back to sleep.  To paraphrase Bilbo Baggins, quests are nasty things, that will make you late for dinner.  And I’m old now, too old for quests and adventures.

On the other hand, I’m afraid that if I go back to sleep, I might never wake up again.  Besides, maybe I’m too old not to go on a quest!  And maybe seeking the God who has been chasing me all these years might be worth every ounce of my remaining strength, no matter how young or old I am.

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