Have you ever wondered, "Should peace be an objective or a by-product?" When perusing Christian book titles, the consensus seems to be that it is the goal toward which Christians rightfully strive. More than a few titles suggest steps, systems and sermon series to the holy grail of peace. Most books are printed in the United States or other nations with highly-developed economies. I wonder if publishers enjoy booming sales because, in addition to economic factors in their homelands, the culture embraces peace as an entitlement, something one deserves.
"Well," one might challenge, "Doesn’t the Bible teach that the fruit of the Spirit is ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self–control?’" (Galatians 5:22-23.) Yes, it does, but from what context is that statement lifted? The assurance of the fruit of the Spirit is centered between the acts of the sinful nature – really ugly, self-serving, egocentric stuff (Galatians 5:16-21) – and, the fact that the fruit is found in those who have "crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:24). The paragraph continues with, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:25) The context suggests that love, joy, peace and other fruit of the Spirit result when one discards the morally unacceptable, refuses to be self-centered, and obeys the Spirit fully.
Against this backdrop, this morning I scrambled around sorting through my messy closet of personal experiences and opinions. I turned to King David. The Israeli king may not be a typical poster boy for peace, but he is usually credited with writing, "He leadeth me beside the still waters," (Psalm 23:2 KJV) an often-quoted verse in contemporary steps-to-peace literature and teaching. How can a man write so eloquently of peace when his story includes wrestling with wild animals to protect his sheep, taking on Goliath when apparently outmatched, serving and then running from an unappreciative and paranoid sitting king, and leading armies in horrific battles? I wonder, "David, are you serious?"
Psalm four serves to illustrate a dimension of David’s experience. Verse one begins the song of worship with,
"Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
Be merciful to me and hear my prayer."
The middle verses speak of cultural dysfunctions, simple messes like distortions, "turn glory into shame", delusions, "false gods", and disillusionment: "Who can show us any good?" This doesn’t point to peace to me! But, the concluding stanza, verse eight, brings the song to a faith-building crescendo,
"I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD,
Make me dwell in safety."
David’s song says, "Peace is present regardless of the challenge before us." Verses four and eight include bedtime assurances from a man who slept knowing that Saul was a few yards away breathing hatred and wishing David dead.
New Testament figures challenge me. Stephen was at peace while his breath was being pounded out of his body, by stones thrown by Jesus-hating zealots. When the Apostle Paul thought of shipwrecks, imprisonments, beatings, and other "inconveniences," he wrote, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18). John saw heaven open and experienced the revelation of Jesus on Patmos, a penal colony. The common denominator among the saints in Scripture was that all were living in obedience and all were at peace!
The world is continuously in pursuit of peace. And, sadly, the Western Christian world suggests peace is a destination, a goal to be achieved, rather than an expected outcome of living obediently. My friend, Pastor Bob Neuman of Lansing Assembly of God (Lansing, IL), quotes John Newton, "I am still in the land of the dying; I shall be in the land of the living soon." I am thinking that peace comes as I "crucify the sinful nature with its passions and desires," a way of saying, "‘Yes, Lord,’ and ‘No, Otto!’" Love, joy, peace and other fruit of the Spirit all flow out of a "Yes Lord!" obedience.
On the threshold of initiating a colossal, God-ordained project, King David urged his son, Solomon, "And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work" (1 Chronicles 28:9-10). Great advice!
This morning I pause to wonder, "Why do I do what I do?" If I were to ask my family, friends, and neighbors if what I do is noble enough, I believe the answer would be a uniform, "Yes!" But, if I were to ask, "Why do I do what I do?" the answer may be more muddled or cluttered. Understanding and mastering motives, learning and applying David’s instruction to Solomon, is an often overlooked, but constantly needed discipline.
Have I always mastered the self-introspective exercise? No! Unfortunately, I have proceeded to do some very nifty things because of what someone else might think if I didn’t. Or, to my shame, I went ahead because I could not find someone else to step in for me. On more than one occasion I simply did something to be noticed.
While negotiating the complexities of a demanding change in my vocation, I found myself emotionally at sea. Almost every relationship changed. As I began navigating through uncharted territory, I felt a bit like a rabbit running at full speed dodging trees and leaping over formidable hurdles. I previously knew nothing about the inner working of some church systems. I was dumbfounded when a leader pompously said, "We need structures to prevent abuses and confusion," and added many reservations about a new initiative for which I was filled with passion. I was stunned when confronted with institutional policies and individual preferences that could stop my efforts dead in its tracks. During a sleepless night, pacing, pondering, and planning "what if" scenarios, the Spirit confronted me with an all-important question, "If you are pleasing the Lord, why isn’t that enough?" That one question turned my eyes away from why I couldn’t understand or control and allowed me to apply all my energies to, "I will please the Lord!"
The years leading up to that Holy Spirit-human spirit confrontation were filled with incremental surrenders to the pleasure of God. As a boy I watched cassette trays of 35mm slides shown by missionaries. After listening to descriptions of deep darkness and human suffering where the Gospel was still unknown, I surrendered my life at an altar. Often, Mary Brown’s lyrics were sung en route to the altar.
It may not be on the mountain’s height, or over the stormy sea;
It may not be at the battle’s front my Lord will have need of me;
But if by a still, small voice He calls to paths I do not know,
I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Yours,
I’ll go where You want me to go.
Refrain
I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord,O’er mountain, or plain, or sea;
I’ll say what You want me to say, dear Lord,
I’ll be what You want me to be.
As a college student I thrived, in part because of Friday night Campus Missions Fellowship services. Each week a missionary would tell of his or her work and share opportunities for service. And, each week I said, "I’ll go!" at the chapel altar.
The hour came when the "rubber hit the road," and I was surprised that my motives were conflicted, my bearing wavered. I discovered Paul’s sobering instruction in Ephesians 5:8-10, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord." If I could say, "I am pleasing the Lord," that was, and is, enough!
Additionally, God’s Word exposes the holy-human conflict. Hebrews 4:12 reads, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12. My interpretation for life practice reads, "The Word of God exposes inward thoughts and challenges every motivation."
When one is able to say, "I know I am pleasing the Lord," he is able to shrug off 100's of opinions, 1000's of strategies, and millions of other priorities. Pleasing the Lord is enough!
Don Meyer, President of the University at Valley Forge, attributed this statement to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "It is the task of youth not to reshape the church, but rather to listen to the Word of God." The arresting statement by a leading German Christian who dared to challenge the evils of Adolph Hitler’s Nazi regime provoked me to ask several impossible-to-answer questions. Before moving forward, let me share that my life has been enriched by the writings and thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
One of the first questions is, "Who is young?" As I grow older, my definition of "young" is changing. Fewer and fewer are older, more and more are young. "Youth" has strength and typically dares to venture beyond norms established by elders. If "youth" merely "listens to the Word of God," who will negotiate the changes which come to church? Given old men’s inclination to maintain the status quo, I ask, "Who will be entrusted to negotiate change?" At 80, Moses was young enough to lead a mass exodus of Israelis. But, Daniel, was surely much younger when he led a quiet civil rebellion within his captor’s palace. How old was Joshua when Moses died? Was Joseph an old man?
Another challenge, "When will I be old enough?" My grandfather lived with us most of my growing up years. He passed away in his ninetieth year and I never heard him speak about being old. I am living in my eighth decade and if I didn’t have an occasional ache or pain, think I am still young.
How does one know when he is old enough, or properly equipped, for his service to be accepted if he says, "Here I am. Send me!" Samuel was still a boy, at least in comparison to Moses and antiques like me, and was pressed into service. Wasn’t Jesus an adolescent when he was missed by His parents who found Him meeting with temple dignitaries? Other questions are hiding in the cracks and crevices within me. I must be content with mischievously probing just long enough to define a few challenging suggestions for thought, discussion, and action.
The first suggestion is that those entrusted with teaching and preaching the Word of God do their work diligently and excellently. The Word of God is the fountainhead for faith and action and must be presented well. Bad teaching and haphazard preaching are always unacceptable. Those charged with communicating God’s Word are under orders originating in the heart of God. To open the Bible, read it well, and unfold its truths is the necessary foundation for the youth that are listening. Preacher, preach with passion and power! Teacher, teach truth and tenacity of conviction! I can still hear the sobering, thunder-like charge read to me and others being ordained in 1968, "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine." (2 Timothy 2:1-3)
The examples of the young men cited above -- Daniel, Joseph and Samuel – were well grounded before being pressed into service. I am reminded of a conference instructor saying, "Before you get it out, make sure you got it right." Joseph wasn’t stretching his arm up and offering, "Here! I know! Me. Me!" like a fourth grader who knows the answer to the teacher’s question. I cannot imagine Daniel huddling with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and saying, "This is the moment we have been waiting for! This is ‘our opportunity’." Samuel was clearly deferential and respectful toward Eli. Emerging youth will affect change, it is inevitable. But, youth can fulfill their assignment without being disrespectful or running rough shod over those who have carried the truth forward in their generation.
Finally, the older must be gracious and acknowledge that there is always room for improvement and that each generation ought to discover the most effective way to communicate eternal truth. Pat and I enjoy music and memories of the past, but they are passe! We have thrived learning new music that proclaims old truth. (Don’t tell anyone! When no one is watching, we still sneak away and read the pages of old hymn books.) We fear some of the media displays are speeding us toward cataract surgery, but we refuse to grumble and grouse about youth, because we are not sure we are old yet! Pastor Bonhoeffer, thank you for prompting us to think!
The power of stories is impossible to estimate. A simple first-person narrative lives as it is handed down from generation to generation. Story telling was the method of the Pentecostal church that formed me. Back in the day we called it "Testimony Time." I cannot remember sermons heard in childhood, but I cannot forget the songs and stories.
In response to, "Does anyone have a testimony," someone would stand and relate their experience. In the process of doing so they effectively moved the great truths that were preached from the pulpit to the marketplace. Theory met practice. The theoretical became actual. Gradually, the practice of impromptu testimony has become a quaint memory. Worship services once lasted two hours or more. The church made time for the Holy Spirit to prompt those living in the arena of common life to tell how an Eternal God made a difference in the rough and tumble reality of daily life.
To be fair, some abused the privilege and practice by repeating a story ad nauseam, sharing too many details, or speaking more about themselves than Jesus. One runs that risk in church – even in the pulpit! But, risk is always an ingredient of faith. One can eat the seed and be sure of a meal, or risk planting the seed and waiting for the harvest. Maybe the contemporary church could revisit the need for story telling!
I learned that stories reinforce hope. If God is working today in the life of another follower of Jesus, a person I know and trust, their testimony fortifies my hope of Divine intervention in my life. The promises of God take on flesh and blood reality in a well-told story. The same One who rescued Daniel from the den filled with lions, who used a fault-filled Samson to deliver Israel from the Philistines, and prepared Nehemiah to organize a world-class rehab project, may use me! God creates, cares, and acts today! I just heard another story of how He did it.
Stories amplify great classroom lecturers. I would never minimize the importance of what I have learned in classrooms, but the lessons learned there have been fortified by the examples and experiences shared by many who had no special academic or professional qualifications. Some of the storytellers from whom I have learned could barely read or write, but they effectively shared their experiences with God. Their story was not marked with "deep insights" gained from "original languages," but authentic God-man encounters.
Some stories increased my capacity to receive vision. Many speak of "casting vision." I am quite certain that the "visions" and "dreams" promised by the prophet and explained by Peter on the Day of Pentecost, (Acts 2) come down from above and are not "cast" horizontally, from one mere human to another. The Sprit-ordered, Spirit-inspired, testimony is a record of how the Eternal One entered time and changes a person’s direction, heals their disease, or encourages a desperate and downtrodden doubter to trust and thrive. When questioned, true visionaries quickly attribute their special insights to the Lord, never to a brainstorming session.
As I awoke this morning the simple chorus I learned to sing during a "testimony service" was filling my spirit. The lyrics point to Jesus. The possibility of the miraculous is imbedded in a few simple words. The story of a hemorrhaging women recorded in Matthew 9 comes to the forefront. Her testimony still lives and encourages many.
Oh, it is Jesus,
Yes, it is Jesus;
Oh, it Jesus in my soul;
For I have touched the hem of His garment,
And His blood has made me whole.
The impromptu, extemporaneous format for testimony may not be the best for today’s church, but the story still must be told.
The news of a terrorist attack on a Paris magazine editorial office felt like bushels of slushy snow sliding off the Dunkin Donut facade into my coat collar. As I poured milk over my breakfast cereal I heard that twelve people are dead because of satirical publications. Many more are wounded, three or more terrorists are at large. What will this mean to my way of life on America’s East coast?
The media outlets committed to reporting "news," right and left wing protagonists alike, spin webs of flimsy theory about whom, why, and long-range effects of the Paris attack. How should New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Nairobi, and Rio de Janeiro respond? The media seems to agree that ISIS is evil, but Islam is a peaceful religion. A current stirring inches below the surface of the flooding torrent of words suggests that if Israel would "pipe down" the flaming jets of terrorism would cool down. Christians have a hard time inserting an end note.
Major broadcast news outlets (that one can watch without cable connections) note the attack with minute-long segments supported with video images and a mild "Tsk, Tsk." We then return to the kind of empty chatter that sets human intelligence into the terrifying darkness of "Who Cares Indifference." (Do five or six people really need to speak at once, effectively obliterating a rare nugget of importance?) Average half hours break down to one or two minutes of "hard" news, two or three minutes of gore-filled car-train wreckage, 15-18 minutes of introducing pet grooming techniques, sharing the latest laundry room tips, or demonstrating a convenience gadget imported from China. The remaining 10-12 minutes of television half hour news are an advertising maven’s paradise. Everything is for sale and on sale! The screaming offers create deafness and denseness.
In a college chapel, somewhere around 1963, David Wilkerson was the morning preacher. The small-in-stature Wilkerson was an unlikely prophet who emerged from his pulpit in a remote village in rural Pennsylvania. Within months Wilkerson was an international religious figure and founder of Teen Challenge, a ministry now on every continent. A sweeping statement David Wilkerson made in the course of his sermon put me on high alert. The predictive prophecy was, "The addictions, violence, and their aftermath in Bedford Stuyvesant will come to every town, village, and hamlet of North America in my lifetime! Get ready! It’s coming!" And it did!
Anyone who could, including churches, moved out of cities where the malignancy of drugs and the resulting fallout germinated. In the church we named the flight "progress" and "God’s blessing," when stately houses of worship and prayer were sold for pennies on the dollar and cavernous spiritual voids were filled with the liars, exploiters, cheap "users" and deceivers dispatched from hell. Governments developed ineffective slogans like, "Just Say No!" politicians spent tax dollars on "Enterprise Zones," and bureaucrats designed "Job Corp," all desperate attempts at doing something to reverse the ruinous flood predicted by David Wilkerson years before the fact and propelled forward by a church that fled to greener, pastoral-like settings.
Wow, that is a too-long introduction to the redemptive truth by which I choose to live today! In reading the Psalms this week I have noticed how frequently the ancient song writers used "shield" and military metaphors for the Lord’s salvation and deliverance. For instance, Psalm 28 uses "shield," "strength," and "fortress."
Praise be to the LORD,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.
The LORD is the strength of his people,
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever. – Psalm 28:6-9 (NIV)
The media may ignore the church, but the people of God ought to be the ones who know and announce to the world that apart from HIM, there is no safety, no security, no soothing balm for those who live in danger. The people of God know that ax dollars and tactical strategies cannot protect anyone from evil men. King Saul chased his successor through the hills of Israel with hateful jealousy. If the Lord had not been David’s shield, had the Lord not been his fortress of salvation, if the Lord had slumbered while an evil prowled about with icy murder flowing through his veins, David would have never ascended to Israel’s throne.
Today radical hate mongers behead women and children, blow up buildings filled with innocent civilians or carry lethal packages of death in backpacks with the intent of disrupting communities living in peace. The people of God must put their trust in no one but their SHIELD. To find peace in uncertain times one must affirm his FORTRESS OF SALVATION.
While the media grinds away, pulverizing endless opinions and observations about the people and powers of hard-to-define enemies, we join the Psalmist in proclaiming:
My heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.
An old song comes to mind this morning, one which became rooted in the structural foundations of eternal truth during my boyhood. The Vernon Charlesworth poem was set to music by Ira Sankey a century ago.
The Lord’s our Rock, in Him we hide,
A Shelter in the time of storm;
Secure whatever ill betide,
A Shelter in the time of storm.
Refrain
Oh, Jesus is a Rock in a weary land,
A weary land, a weary land;
Oh, Jesus is a Rock in a weary land,
A Shelter in the time of storm.
A shade by day, defense by night,
A Shelter in the time of storm;
No fears alarm, no foes afright,
A Shelter in the time of storm.
Refrain
The raging storms may round us beat,
A Shelter in the time of storm
We’ll never leave our safe retreat,
A Shelter in the time of storm.
Refrain
O Rock divine, O Refuge dear,
A Shelter in the time of storm;
Be Thou our Helper ever near,
A Shelter in the time of storm.
"My son," was written more than twenty times into Solomon’s Book of Proverbs. The transfer of values, counsel, and encouragement are woven through the pages of the king’s permanent records. The legacy of a father’s life experience is left for generations to come in rhythmic redundancy.
My father taught me the art of using the common hand saw when I was a second grader. Dad, redundantly, rhythmically reminded me, "Let the saw do the cutting!" The simple instruction can be rightly applied to many experiences of life. Dad gradually added instruction in the use of one tool after another until I had a working knowledge of most tools of his trade.
Later in life I remembered how I learned from my tradesman father and knew I needed help if I was to master the craft of my vocation. Jesus guided my path to people much older and far more experienced than me. They were very different from me in many ways, some had little experience in my vocation, but they had life experience, a more mature world view, a better understanding how things work.
Some of the lessons I learned still serve me. For instance, a board member’s wife said almost offhandedly, "Some day you will learn that you cannot work like you do today." She was old enough to be my mother. I was in my twenties. I nodded in agreement and thought, "Not me!" But, she was right and her caution was well placed. The "My son" moment was not wasted.
People with widely varied life experiences crisscrossed my path. I heard "My son" counsel when the "fathers" were unaware they were helping me acquire the necessary "tools of the trade." Some taught me about money and how intoxicating and distracting it can be. Many cautioned me about relationships and human nature. Specific instructions varied from one to another, but I was blessed with people who embraced me as a son.
Others introduced me to their fathers in the form of books, many written well before authors flitted across continents in airplanes or had every word and motion digitalized, magnified, and aired for the masses. The fathers who spoke "My son" counsel into my life lived when the world was quaint and quiet by my youthful standard. The authors who spoke "My son" wisdom were sharing inviolable truths which originated in the heart of an Eternal God. They spoke wisdom which is timeless.
One of the men who began to shape my life two years before I was to break the cycle typical of my vocation was Anthony Giordano. Brother Giordano was a world-class missionary who invited us to bring teams of youth to the Canary Islands in 1986 and 1987. By prevailing professional standards, my life had been on a smoothly ascending trajectory. The churches I had pastored had grown. I was invited to write for national publications. I enjoyed my work. Life was good.
The two two-week summer sessions with Anthony and Rita Giordano were orchestrated by the Lord of the Harvest who made sure that I had "My son" moments with a humble and effective couple who understood how they were "wired," and simply, steadily pursued their calling to perfection. I will never forget Brother Giordano moving forward when the religious establishment of the city fought against his efforts to share the Gospel. No anger, no hasty reactions, no threats, just a quiet, "We will pray and see what the Lord will do!" How could I forget the day when there was no electrical power and Brother Giordano laid his hands on the utility pole and prayed? On the next attempt to power up the amplifier, we heard a little pop, a bit of static, and SOUND! Brother Giordano sort of shrugged unassumingly and said, "The Lord knows what we need."
Months after our second trip, Pat and I were enlisted to head up a new venture in church planting. The "My son" lessons on islands off the coast of Africa in the Atlantic were applied often for more than 25 years. Anthony Giordano, the father who unwittingly shared "My son" moments, slipped into eternity last Sunday. Anthony and Rita Giordano’s and many others have gone ahead. Pat and I will pay our respects this week. The Giordano’s lives were unlike Pat and mine. Otto and Annie Wegner, the first to pour out countless "My son" lessons were followed by many more. The Giordanos are among those who blessed us "sons" the most.
The rhythm of my life includes reading the Psalms and Proverbs each January. As I read five Psalms and one chapter of Solomon’s counsel daily my soul is refreshed, my confidence is rebuilt and my expectations are reset. Oh, I read the ancient Psalter and heaven’s encyclopedia of wisdom throughout the year, but they deserve special attention as I take another lap in life. I read them, meditate on the Psalms because they do not avoid the common disappointments, defeats or discouragements of life. Reverses and regrets run alongside of the high praises of God’s conquests. Like railroad tracks that never intersect, human maladies and Divine majesty run parallel.
The human condition of arrogant boasting, wickedness, murder and mayhem share pages with Eternal answers, last word assurances and help! The "How long?" question is met with "I will sing to the Lord for He is good to me!" (Psalm 13) A song that begins with, "A fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God!’" concludes with "Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!" (Psalm 14) Israel’s hymn book serves as a syllabus for keeping life in balance. The challenges of past years are behind us, but still unknown head-scratching and worry-inducing issues of the new year remind me that the God of the ancient hymn book is alive and well.
I need refresher courses in practical theology. To wax eloquent in theaters of theory is a small accomplishment. I find that living the truth of God in the marketplace is more demanding, more rewarding and the God-intended result of obeying His counsel. Solomon’s advice to gain wisdom and run away from usual temptations is an always-needed new year’s study. The foolish misuse of life is constant. I need to learn repeatedly that ways of the wicked will perish and that the faithful will thrive.
I will let others clamor about the prickly points of political unfairness and stammer about the conditions of culture and church. Obedience to God’s intentions requires all my strength. Solomon’s rhythmic one-liners refresh my resolve. In the heat of yet-to-be-experienced battles, I need to be reminded to, "Let love and faithfulness never leave you." It pays to hold on to the eternal truth in times of transient trouble because He still "Makes ones paths straight." (Proverbs 3)
While reading Psalms and Proverbs the images of bedouin tents and ancient palaces run around in my thoughts, but those images are often overtaken with the familiar street scenes of my experience. The eternal truth and wisdom of Psalms and Proverbs serve an annual refresher course for ordinary life.
