Not Quite Sure What to Say

After twelve years ministering to prisoners, I thought I'd seen and heard everything. But here's a new one:

I just received a request from an inmate serving a life sentence. He's been in prison for twenty years. He wants to get engaged (not sure to whom he wants to propose) and is asking me to help him get an engagement ring.
According to his request, he was "told" (I don't know who tells these inmates all this stuff) that I would help out with everything he needs to do.

Hmmm. What's a chaplain to do? I'm not even sure how to answer this one.

Grace A-N-D Truth

"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
~ John 1:14

As Christians, we are called to model our lives after Jesus Christ. And the gospel teaches us that He was full of both grace and truth. That is a balance that, if we're honest, we struggle mightily to achieve.

I've known some who pride themselves on being 'full of truth.' They wield it like a sledge hammer. Hurt feelings and crushed spirits don't matter to them. Their concern is for "the truth." I've seen their preaching drive some away from the church, and away from the caring arms of the Savior. But their attitude seems to reflect the famous Jack Nicholson line in A Few Good Men: "You can't handle the truth!"

I've known others who's tilt toward grace is such that they're willing to throw out standards and doctrine and priniciples, all in the name of 'grace.' Afterall, they reason, doesn't God's grace extended to us save us? If grace was sufficient for the Apostle Paul, even in his affliction, shouldn't we be careful to cover everything and everyone in such grace?
But grace at the expense of everything else becomes what Bonhoffer called "cheap grace." It's empty and invalid because it lacks any measure of truth to support it.

'Grace and truth' is not an either-or proposition. As followers of Christ, we're called to be filled with both.

Core Values and Principles? Not Mine

In his first week in office, President Barack Obama signed an executive order effectively banning all torture of enemy combatants taken as prisoners. The order clamps down on any and all harsh interrogation techniques. At the signing, the President said, "Government must adhere to core values and principles."

Two days later, the President signed another executive order. This one lifted the ban on federal funding for international non-governmental agencies that offer abortion services.

I'm wondering about those core values and principles.

Now comes word that the President's $800 billion + economic stimulus proposal includes millions to provide contraceptives. When asked about this rather odd expediture in an economic stimulus bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi replied, "Well, contraception will help the economy." She went on to say that states are struggling with the costs of children's health care, education and other expenses. So by distributing contraceptives, therby reducing the number of births, the cost to government is reduced. (In other words, our government now sees children as a burden to the state rather than a blessing.)
Anybody want to hazard a guess as to which ethnic or socio-economic groups they plan to distribute these contraceptives to?

Core values and principles?

“Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation.” ~Proverbs 16:12 (The Message)

A Radically Different Idea

This is Pastor Francis Chan at the Catalyst Conference. It's as challenging a message as I've heard in some time.

Faith

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6

This verse of Scripture, which most of us can quote, is far from passive. Yet, very often, our interpretation is just that: Passive. Too often, we talk about trusting God with a sense of resignation. It's as if trusting God is like buying lottery tickets. A risky gambit.

But this verse of Scripture, along with the entire Bible, advocates an active trust in God. Obedience and striving and believing and acting on what God's Word says are all part of "Trust in the Lord with all your heart ..."

It's like exercise. (I'm only guessing here. I'm not a big fitness geek.) Wishing and hoping, and even hanging around the fitness equipment doesn't help me get in shape or lose weight. Only when I actively engage in an exercise regimen can I expect the desired result. And only when I actively engage in what thus sayeth the Lord can I expect to see Him truly directing my paths.

When I'm actively trusting Him and He's directing my paths, I'm usually amazed at where I end up.

Ice Fishing

28 1/2" Northern Pike
Speared while ice fishing
1/19/09
Lake Stella, MN

S-N-O-W!

In His questioning of Job, the Lord asked specifically: "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow ... which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of war and battle?" (Job 38:22-23)

Well, this week I'll do just that. Sharon and I are flying to Minnesota to visit her folks. I know. You're probably asking yourself: Who flys to Minnesota in January?

This morning I looked at the weather forecast for our arrival: It's going to be -6. -6!

Take Your Pick

"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a mad man, or something worse"
~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

A New Way?

I'm revisiting a subject that I've posted about in the past.

I saw a sign along the road the other day advertising a new church in Charlotte. There are currently somewhere around 750 churches in Charlotte, North Carolina. I'm not convinced that we need another one. But the sign said that this new church is "doing church in a brand new way."

I'm not sure what that means. The weekly gathering of the saints that we call church (a misnomer in itself) is supposed to be centered around the Lord Jesus Christ. The body of believers comes together to worship Him, to give Him the praise and glory due His Name, and for the preaching of His Word which helps to conform us to the image of Christ.
It's all about Him.

"Doing church a brand new way" would seem to intimate that coming together to worship and to hear His Word preached isn't quite good enough. People desiring church "in a brand new way" would seem to have an agenda different than worship and Word.

Could it be that "doing church in a brand new way" really means church centered around us rather than Him?

New Stuff We Can Use

"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness."
~ Lamentations 3:22-23

What if God's mercy was a one time thing? What if the compassion of the Lord was only good in our lives for a limited time? Have you ever thought about that? I have.

We all like new stuff. Christmas morning is evidence enough of that. But how much of what we got just a few weeks ago is already forgotten? How many things end up in the bottom of a dresser drawer, or in a closet waiting to be dusted off for next spring's yard sale? The 'new' tends to wear off pretty quickly, doesn't it?

Not so with God's lovingkindness. The Bible teaches that His compassion and mercy toward us are "new every morning." Think about that. God gives me (and you) a fresh dose of the thing we need most in our lives each and every day when our feet hit the floor.
You can't wear it out, because it's brand new the very next day. It won't get old; it's always new. There's not an expiration date or a warranty that runs out. Each day, His mercy is new in our lives; new to face the new challenges life will bring our way each day.

Now that's new stuff we can really use.

Discombobulated

I love the holidays. I really do. I enjoy everything about the season. From Thanksgiving through Christmas and right into the new year you'll find me eating it all up (both literally and figuratively.) But I'm glad it's over, too.

There's something about the regular routine that I miss when we get busy with holiday activities. Both in ministry and home life, nothing is routine about the season. Our work at the prison is amped up to reach as many as possible with the message of Christ at Christmas. And, of course, there are all of the family activities and gatherings with friends and loved ones. I tend to get quite discombobulated through it all. I'm pretty easily distrtacted anyways, so the variation from my regular routine for a month throws me into a mad nasty funk.

But it's over! I'm back in my routine. Back in the office today. Regular schedule. Back to our Bible study group meeting on Wednesday. Back in the pulpit on Thursday. Back to inmates asking all kinds of crazy stuff and looking to me for answers.

Bring on the boring routine!