Traveler

It had been a strange morning so far for Pastor Robert, from the moment he opened his eyes.

Instead of waking up in his comfortable bed next to his wife, he found himself sitting on the stone steps of a huge, ornate building. Marble pillars rose high into the foggy morning sky. He shook his head, hoping to clear away the cobwebs and shake off the dream that must still possess him, but when he blinked, he was still there.

He stood up and looked around, wondering if he were the victim of some elaborate joke. An eerie feeling began to come over him as he surveyed the scene. Tattered, lifeless people lay around him on the steps. A weak cry came from the highest step. A baby lay all alone, crying helplessly and pitifully as the sunrise started to peek through the buildings all around him. He stared in horror at her. Her umbilical cord was still attached. He quickly went and took her in his arms, his breath catching in his throat at how cold she was. Surely she couldn't have survived much longer. Where was her mother?

What was this place, that left helpless souls on steps during the night to die? He took off his jacket and wrapped her in it tightly. He needed to find help for her. Where would the hospital be in this strange city?

He thought about the night before. He had been visiting some of the members of the church he pastored who were in the hospital. He had felt so despondent after watching one old man struggle to take each breath, pain evident in his clouded eyes, that he had driven to the lookout point on the hill over the city and shared his heartache and tears with the Lord. He couldn't remember driving home. He must have fallen asleep there.

And ended up here. "Here" looked suspiciously like Ancient Rome. Could he really have gone back two thousand years in time to walk the streets of one of the most powerful empires ever built? He supposed anything was possible for God.

A tiny sigh from the little one in his hands spurred him back to action. He walked as fast as he could down the side of the cobblestone street, trying to close his nose against the refuse that filled the trenches on either side. The street was largely empty in the early morning, but there were a few merchants setting up their booths and a few travelers on horseback. He saw a Roman soldier riding a magnificent steed and knew that he was indeed in Rome. He shook his head in amazement. While he received a few odd stares, probably at the sight of his clothes, he was basically ignored by all. He wondered where he should take this child. The soldier wouldn't be of help. He had no idea how to find a doctor or if the doctor would be willing or able to do anything for the sick baby.

Christians! He didn't speak Latin, but he knew some basic Greek or Hebrew from his seminary studies. He ran down the street, searching each booth for the sign of the fish or a cross.

He was delighted when he found one.

More to come...

What is a Biblical Purist?

My prayer as I begin to write today echoes the popular song by Aaron Shust. Give me words to speak, don't let my spirit sleep, 'cause I can't think of anything worth saying.

Psalm 119: 1o5: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

As I was walking around my neighborhood this morning, my thoughts turned in this direction. What is the Bible? Why is so important that we define our relationship with the Word of God as Christians?

I don't know if the term "Biblical Purist" has been used before. I apologize to anyone who might have said it before I did. As far as I know it is my own. What do I mean by it? Let me explain.

I have held the belief for most of my life that all Christians were Biblical Purists. I'm saying that I thought all those who associated themselves with Christ believed the Bible, in its entirety, to be true and applicable to our lives. That they held no position below or above what God had said.

As I became an adult, and learned more of what the Bible does say, I started to question things. One example happened when I went to my in laws for the first time for Christmas and was offered champagne. I was at first repulsed by the idea. I had been taught to believe that alcohol is sinful. But after I gave it some thought and prayer and searched through Scripture, I couldn't find any reason to make it an issue. God created it. Up until recently, it was used to kill the diseases that lived in drinking water. Jesus drank it. Jesus' first miracle was the creation of wine from water at a wedding! What the Bible condemned as sinful over and over again was the abuse of alcohol, as harmful as the abuse of food, of money, or any number of things that are not inherently sinful.

The next time it was served, I accepted a glass.

These are some of the other statements that I have heard over the years: "The King James version of the Bible is the only inspired Word of God," "Drumbeats in music are sexual," or "Using 'lighter' forms of the misuse of God's name is okay as long as you don't say the really bad ones." I use these examples because they are so blatantly man-made. You only need to have a basic knowledge of history to know that the King James version was banned originally for its questionable sources. More specifically, we would have to believe that before 1611 there was no inspired Word of God if we claimed this as truth. Drumbeats in music only reveal the rhythm, and many things in life utilize rhythm. The Psalms are explicit in ordaining the use of instruments to emphasize rhythm. And when we look at the Bible, it's clear that God wishes our "yes" to be "yes" and our "no" to be "no," and even softer versions of curses such as "Gosh", "darn", "golly", "gee", etc, mean the same and are still a misuse of the holiness of God's name. Use of them must be labeled (if you are going to be a Biblical Purist) a breaking of the third commandment. (Exodus 20:7)

So am I trying to be a downer this beautiful Saturday afternoon? Absolutely not. In fact, as I prayed over this blog entry, I asked that God would show me how to say what He had put on my heart in a way that revealed His love, not my personal vendetta against false teaching. So how do I accomplish that in an entry many may have already stopped reading because of its controversial and negative material?

I'm not sure. But I do know that while taking away from or adding to the Bible is sin, and is contrary to the Bible itself, (Revelation warns against it for starters) its also something we all fall victim too. Perhaps this is a tool of the forces of evil to trip us up, as keeping us from Biblical Purism clouds our way significantly. And when man made rules are added to the Bible, walking with God suddenly or gradually becomes a drudgery, or finds us in despair as we realize we can never hope to follow all of them.

The good news from the Lord today is that you don't have to follow man made rules. Jesus said it over and over again as the Pharisees spouted off their additions to God's commands. God's way isn't burdensome. It's freeing. And more than that, those that have been covered in the blood of Christ are completely free! It's what we do with that freedom that is important. A true believer will willingly offer his freedom back to God and seek through His Word to find out what goes against the nature of God and refrain, and what moves in harmony with Him and embrace it.

So if you've held some convictions you are starting to question, you have a Savior who would love to show you His Way. He made it clear through the book He inspired His own brother James to write - "If anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask of God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

I'm thanking God today for His beautiful, infallible Word, and asking Him to keep me from the temptation to remove any part or make any addition to it's perfect arrangement.

Prayer Changes Things

I remember when I was little seeing a plaque that hung in my parent's bedroom in our parsonage in Oglesby, Illinois. There were three words. "Prayer changes things."

This picture is my mom, 31 years ago. If you can't tell, she's expecting. Expecting me. Well, that may not seem so amazing, until you know that she had been praying for a child for eight years prior to this picture being taken.

What does that have to do with prayer? My mom tells the story of a little old lady in the church named Mrs. Peterson. She came up to my mom one night and asked her if she could pray that she would have a baby.

Of course my mom agreed. And around nine months later I was born.

I've been thinking about prayer. I said in my post about suffering that I knew I needed to pray, and I was resisting that. Well, I did give in to the Spirit and committed myself to pray every day, not just for myself, but for five friends who, like me, are trying to conceive. I have prayed daily for 14 days so far. I have seen prayer work in four exciting ways:

1. Prayer really does change things. James 5: 16 says that "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." This isn't because the righteous man has any ability of his own, it's only through the Spirit of God that prayer works to change hearts, change minds, change attitudes, and change circumstances. I have been overjoyed to hear the news from two of the five women I've been praying for... they are expecting. One of them, amazingly so.

2. Prayer deepens love. This is probably the biggest reason Jesus encouraged his followers to pray for their enemies. 1 John 3:18 reminds us that we should not "love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." One of the ways to do so is to pray for others. The friends that I have been praying for have become so much more precious to me. My affection and concern for them has multiplied immensely over these past two weeks.

3. Prayer strengthens. As Galations 5:16 says, "live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." The opposite, I've found, is also true. Don't let the Spirit have freedom in your life by prayer and the Word, be sure you'll satisfy those sinful desires. And end up miserable. There is strength in relinquishing control to Christ. With him running the show, things get done you couldn't have dreamed of.

4. Prayer shines light on the path. Sometimes I feel like I'm wandering around in the dark, not sure where to take my next step. Prayer is essential in these moments of indecision. Proverbs 3:6 speaks of this truth. "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

I urge you to give prayer a higher place in your priorities. You will find the Spirit take over and lead you so lovingly into His will that you will never want to leave His presence again.

Prayer changes things. So may we be found on our knees, bleeding our will onto the altar of His perfect and loving plan.

A Game Well Played

Apparently, I'm intimidating when I play volleyball.

At least that's what a friend told me last week when I went to our women's gym/rec night in the church gym.

Sports are not a big part of my life. I enjoy exercise, and I am very active. But competitive sports mean little to me.

Except volleyball.

Our friendly game this past week was nothing like the games I once played in high school. Only three or four of us had ever really played before. It is probably safe to say out of all of us that I had the most experience.

I started thinking about that afterward, as I watched my hand turn a lovely dark shade of grey and purple from repeatedly bumping the ball. What made me so passionate about volleyball? It's an easy answer. Mrs. Whitecotton.

She was my high school volleyball coach. From her I learned such key phrases as "Relentless pursuit" and "Sacrifice your body." She was highly unimpressed by theatric falls. She knew when we were faking it and she knew when we were seriously after the ball. She taught us to be constantly on our guard, always ready to go for it. If we dawdled or socialized on the court, we could be sure we'd be taken out of the game.

Mrs. Whitecotton's attitude paid off, at least for our volleyball team. We did well. We won a lot of games. We got good at what she taught us to do.

She reminds me a little bit of Jesus. He knows when we're faking it. He cares whether we do it with all our heart. He is always urging us to press on, relentlessly pursue, make ourselves a living sacrifice. He cares enough about us and the job he's given us to do that he will devote himself to training us, perfecting us and sending us out on that court of life.

As I put my whole heart into being a good volleyball player, I pray I'll do the same for Jesus. May I get to the end of the game exhausted and spent, but joyful as I see His smile and hear His voice.

"Well played."