Barns on Hillsides

We've lived here at High Meadow Farm for 19 years and how quickly that time has flown! It's been long enough now that when I look about our land, I see many memories and hear many stories. Children were raised here and now grandchildren come. Our children's friends that came now come with their own children, taking riding lessons on the same pony that my children rode. What a blessing to my soul!

Our farm is only 10 acres and is evenly split; 5 acres of flat land in front, and 5 acres that consist of a hill in back. Our home sits down on the 5 flat acres, along with paddocks, kennels, gardens and a tiny orchard. The horse barn and pasture sit on the hillside. Originally, about 100 years ago, the barn was a dairy barn. About 25-30 years ago, horse-owning residents did some remodeling to make the barn horse-friendly, and we've done more redmodeling over the years, too. It's a pretty cool barn all-in-all, but having barn and pasture on a hill is a continual battle against the effects of nature.

As has happened many times, we had a hum-dinger of a storm roll through a few days ago dumping a few inches of rain in a short period of time. The gravel lane rutted out - again - washes were evident in the barn and pasture - again. And again we have to go back to work to restore the damage. Not that we didn't work hard to prevent the damage in the first place! It seems we are constantly striving to maintain a barn and pasture on a hillside!Another big storm is predicted for this evening, so this morning I was busy doing all that I could to prevent further washouts. As I was lugging rock around, it occurred to me that it will be the land that wins in the end. It will be the forces of nature that win in the end. Despite all our work, we cannot make nature take another course.

It brought to mind the words of God to Job, who had questioned God's justice and goodness. In various places in the book of Job, God said, "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" (38:4) "...who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb?" (38:8) "Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place?" (38:12) "Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep?" (38:16) "Where is the way to the dwelling of light?" (38:19) Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail?" (38:22) "Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolt?" (38:25)

Towards the end of the questioning, God asks Job, "Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it." (40:2) And Job answer Him later, "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted."

And we toil on, working hard to live within the forces of nature, but never able to fully tame her. So how is it that so many believe that what we do in our daily lives will kill the planet? Should we be good stewards of God's good earth? Yes! Christians should be the first to proclaim it, but do we really think that mankind can cause the glaciers to melt and the oceans to rise? We think far too highly of ourselves when we do, and we ignore example after example that we are not the ones in charge of natural forces. Too many earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, tornadoes, blizzards, and on and on tell us that we are small indeed.

And yet God invites us to Himself. He establishes us and gives us a hand in the glory of creation. We see this in what the Psalmist has written:

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

Yet you have made him a little lower

than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

You have given him dominion

over the work of your hands;

you have put all things under his feet ...

O LORD, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!" (Ps.8:3-6, 9)

So we will keep working to make our own little garden a glory to God and a haven for man. But in the end the land will win, and all of it - including us - go back to Him who gave it.

My Ordinary Sin

Ordinary things are wonderful. A good cup of coffee, conversation among friends, daffodils peeking through the snow. Ordinary things can also be the things we daily tolerate or excuse, not realizing that they are actually sin.

In our Women's Bible Study this winter, we've been going through Jerry Bridges' book Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate." Ouch. It's amazing that what I pass off as normal behavior is really sin in the sight of God, things like: frustration, discontentment, unthankfulness, selfishness, irritability, anxiety, judgementalism, and - oh, dear - sins of the tongue. Either spoken or written, I would assume. As I am confronted by these "little" sins in my life, it's helped me to see how far I continue to fall short of what God intends for me, but it's also helped me to see how patient, faithful, and loving the Lord is to me as He daily enables my sanctification. He is a tender Shepherd after all.

The latest chapter we've gone through dealt with the sin of anxiety. Double, even triple, ouch! As this particular study was being taught, it occurred to me was that this is a hard one for most people, not just me, because: 1. The Lord is always telling us in Scripture "Do not fear." and 2. it was a very lively class discussion! Our teacher described anxiety as "fearful uncertainty about the future", and what really struck me through the heart was when she noted that anxiety is a lack of trust in God, i.e. saying to God, "Sorry. You can't cover this one for me." In my heart, I fell on my face before God in repentance as the truth of her statement sunk in. I had elevated myself above the Lord Himself by thinking and acting as though I were outside of his care, too much for him to handle. The God who made heaven and earth and holds all things together in Christ is not big enough to care for me? Hardly; and not only that, He tells me that's not so;

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you." ~ 1 Peter 5:6-7

Anxiety is also my lack of accepting God's providence in my life. Despite the fact that Christ suffered and died to pay the penalty of my sin, do I really think that He doesn't care what happens to me? That events in my life are random and purposeless? Ah, repentance time again! Anxiety causes me to take my eyes off Jesus and focus on myself and my circumstances, and that's when I lose all equilibrium of faith and trust. I must intentionally peel my eyes off of myself and look to Him, remembering Who he is and that he fashions my difficulties in such a way as to bring about my good.

Realizing these things and repenting of them, how on earth do I now live so that I don't continually fall back into sin, but instead learn to trust God? He tells us how in Philippians 4: 4-7

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ... The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Ask the Lord for help, tell him of your trouble, and be thankful - rejoice! He is with you. (Note to self: look at your hand. That's how close the Lord is.) Additionally, I - in cooperation with the peace of God - am to guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus. This is the actual retraining of my thoughts that are so susceptible to corruption by the world and the devil, and like athletic training, it's hard work! I must continually, intentionally run back to the Word to remember who God is and that He cares for me. It's in the Word that I'll find the truth of the matter. Philippians 4: 8 goes on to instruct us:

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

So, this week I made a little card to post on my bathroom mirror to remind me of all these things. (We never really outgrow flash-cards, do we?) As I commit the words on the card to my heart and mind, I am confident that the truth of those words will set me free from my sin of anxiety. I also am sure that I'll fail, and worry, and sin again; but thanks be to God

... the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." - 1 Peter 5:10

So what have I to fear?

And the words on my little card?

"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions (anxieties, worries, frettings) of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct (and in all my thinking) ...knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways you inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." 1 Peter 1:14-15, 18-19

Antithesis in Leadership

Mankind has not changed since Adam and Ever were cast from the Garden. The things which surround mankind - technology, commerce, culture - have changed, but the heart of man remains as it has always been, prone to sin and wickedness and in need of a Savior.

That being the case, we see in Isaiah 32 that the antithesis residing in man's heart can be seen in the office of leadership. As Isaiah lays out warning and promise to an errant Israel, he also lays out for us what leadership is and what it is not.

In Chapter 32, verses 1 - 3, Isaiah gives us an example of virtuous leadership and how it behaves.

Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,

and princes will rule in justice.

"Each will be like a hiding place from the wind,

a shelter from the storm,

like streams of water in a dry place,

like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land."

First and foremost virtuous leadership governs with righteousness and justice, but - especially in our own age of relativity - we must take care to define what that means, and we can derive that definition from Chapter 32 by seeing what righteousness and justice do.

"Each will be like a hiding place from the wind ... a shelter from the storm ..." A virtuous leader protects and defends those he leads. In our day, in our nation, we can see how that is outlined by the U.S. Constitution; our leaders are to defend our nation from enemies within and from enemies without, as well as from oppressive tyrannical government. In our churches, virtuous leadership is to protect the flock from false teachings and idolatry. Righteous and just leadership is ever watchful, ever alert, and ever active in the duties of defense and protection.

A virtuous leader also sees that the weak, the helpless, the truly needy are provided for and cared for. He is "like a stream of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land." Later in Chapter 32 Isaiah describes it as being "a stronghold to the poor...to the needy in his distress." (25:4) This kind of leadership is compassionate, a servant to those he leads. He feeds his flock rather than feeding off of them. By protection and provision, a virtuous leader will guide those he governs to walk in truth and wisdom which leads to righteousness and peace. (v.4,7)

Conversely, we can also see in this passage of Isaiah what leadership should not be or do. He should not substitute deception for truth (v.5) calling "evil good and good evil...darkness for light, light for darkness...bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." (Is. 5:20) In fact, unrighteous leadership will actively pursue injustice by seeking new ways to pervert truth and intentionally teach falsehood (Is. 32:6). And because this kind of leadership denies truth, it cannot possibly protect and defend as it should. Instead, it deprives the hungry and thirsty (v.6), devises ways to ruin the poor and needy through deception, denies justice to those he governs (v.7), using his position of power to oppress (Micah 2: 1-2) He does not serve, but instead demands to be served. This is not true leadership at all - it is tyranny.

Today, as in Isaiah's day, there is a continual tension and struggle as to what type of leadership will prevail. As Christians we often feel that the unjust and unrighteous usually win the day, but God's Word encourages us to standfast on what is good, true, and beautiful and to continue doing good works. "...he who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands." (Is. 32:8) And while standing nobly may often seem like a lost cause, it is good to remember what God Himself has to say about unrighteous leadership:

"The LORD will enter into judgement with the elders and princes of his people:

"It is you who have devoured the vineyard,

the spoil of the poor is in your houses.

What do you mean by crushing my people,

by grinding the face of the poor?"

declares the Lord GOD of hosts." (Is. 3:14-15)

It's not difficult to see, therefore, that there is a clear antithesis of leadership before us today as there was in Isaiah's day. The question for us is to which kind of leadership shall we consent, and what kind of leadership shall we be?

Happy Birthday, Beau!

It's not as raw this year. The searing, ragged grief has subsided. We still sorrow for our loss, but there's the key - "our loss." Beau is growing up in the presence of the Lord Himself - knowing and being perfectly known. He knows none of earth's ills; no sickness, so sorrow, no pain, no tears. He knows perfect joy. He knows Jesus face-to-face.

I'm sure it wasn't a coincidence that my daily Bible reading was in Isaiah 25 and 26. Verses 6- 8 of Chapter 25 tell us:

"On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine will-refined.

And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken."

And in Chapter 26 verse 19:

"Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!

For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead."

Though we only had Beau with us for a very brief time, he continues to point us to Jesus. His life's purpose was quickly fulfilled and the effects of his life are eternal and many. Not only did Beau's life open up new vistas of life and of knowing the Lord for us, but his work will continue in the halls of knowledge and of searching out the Lord in all of creation, for a scholarship was named after him at New College Franklin. Who knew a tiny infant would do so much.

So today we will celebrate Beaus' life by supplying Ronald McDonald House with toiletries and by visiting Beau's grave to decorate it with fresh flowers and a little red fire truck. We will shed some tears, but we will also thank God for giving Beau to us. For though we had him with us for only a short time here on earth, we will ultimately have him for all eternity. Because of Christ's work on the cross we have redemption of our sins and the promise of life eternal. What hope! What joy!

My Shepherd

The God of love my shepherd is,

And he that doth me feed:

While he is mine, and I am his,

What can I want or need?

He leads me to the tender grass,

Where I both feed and rest;

Then to the streams that gently pass:

In both I have the best.

Or if I stray, he doth convert

And bring my mind in frame:

And all this not for my desert,

But for his holy name.

Yea, in death's shady black abode

Well may I walk, not fear:

For thou art with me; and thy rod

To guide, thy staff to bear.

Nay, thou dost make me sit and dine,

Ev'n in my enemies' sight:

My head with oil, my cup with wine

Runs over day and night.

Surely thy sweet and wondrous love

Shall measure all my days;

And as it never shall remove,

So neither shall my praise.

The 23rd Psalm by George Herbert

Doing Justice

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” ~ Micah 6:8

It’s that first admonition that I want to take up today – to do justice. So, how do we do justice? We have to understand what justice is before we can do it, so let’s first take a look at what justice is not. Some definitions of injustice are: inequity, partiality, wrong, injury, disservice, unbalanced, and biased. If a child saw these things being committed he would cry, “Not fair!” These behaviors go against the moral compass that God installed in our being despite our sinful nature.

Next, let’s look at Webster’s definition for justice: the quality of righteousness; impartiality; the use of authority and power to uphold what is right, just or lawful. It’s what that same child would declare as “Fair!”

Now, let’s see what Scripture has to say about justice:

“…The awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow…” (Deut. 10:17-18)

“You shall not pervert justice … Justice, and only justice, you shall follow…” Deut. 16:19-20).

“…cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” (Isaiah 1:16-17)

[The fathers and prophets] who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions…” (Heb. 11:32-33)

“For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints.” (Psalm 37:28)

For the Christian, justice is not an option, it is a mandate from the Lord God Himself. We are to live our lives righteously, showing no partiality, committing no wrong or injury towards others, working to correct oppression. But, not only that, we are to bring justice and reformation to all of creation, to all spheres of the duties and works of man – the arts, sciences, business, industry, agriculture, education, everything – for it is ALL under the Lordship of Christ.

Therefore, we do not disdain or dismiss the realm of public policy. In fact, we work the fallow soil of the public sphere just as we would of any other sphere. Great injustices to the widow and fatherless exist today because of unrighteous public policy; injustice in the civil courts exist today because ungodly men and women in elected positions appoint judges who corrupt the law of our land – the Constitution; injustices to marriage, the family, business, education, our freedom of worship all exist today due to the absence of sound, Biblical influence in the public realm. We the Church have only to look at ourselves to blame for the mess we find our nation in today. We cannot ignore God’s mandate for justice in the public realm without facing the consequences of an unjust and corrupt society.

O, Christian, “How can I stand up before God and show proper respect to the high God? Should I bring an armload of offerings topped off with yearling calves? Would God be impressed with thousands of rams, with buckets and barrels of olive oil? Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child, my precious baby, to cancel my sin? But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple:”*

Do Justice. Love Kindness. Walk Humbly with God.

*Micah 6: 6-7, The Message

God's Transcendent Economy

These are interesting days that we are living in. From an economic perspective, the situation is anywhere from transitional to dire to apocalyptic depending on who you listen to. Whether a politician or pundit is actively fear-mongering or not, there are plenty of things going on that would incite some amount of fear in just about anyone.

I'm reading through the book of Isaiah right now. In the first half of the book God is confronting His people about their sin and then telling them the consequences of that sin. It's not pretty! It's also striking how much their collective, national sin looks like our own:

Leaders decreed iniquitous decrees, and

wrote oppression. (10.1)

They forsook the Lord, and

dealt corruptly. (1:4)

They claimed godliness, but denied its power. (1:11-14)

Righteousness gave way to murder. (1:21)

Their leaders were rebels, friends of thieves,

givers of bribes. (1:23)

They pursued other gods and were idolatrous. (2:6-8)

Culture broke down. (3:4-5)

No one took responsibility. (3:6-7)

The widow and orphan were denied justice. (1:23)

And the list goes on as God declares His covenant lawsuit against Israel. But, amazingly, in the midst of all that awful declaration of sin and judgement, the grace of God shines through, for we also see passages with some of our dearest promises:

"... though your sins are scarlet, they shall be white as snow..." (9:18)

"... they shall beat their swords into plowshares..." (2:4)

"... the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (7:14)

"... the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light ... For to us a child is born..." (9:2-7)

Well, that may be an interesting little study, but what in the world does it have to do with the economics of our time? A lot, actually. We live in a day not unlike Israel - things aren't looking so good and it's a scary time to live in. But, right in the middle of all that God shows up and gives hope and sustenance to His people.

In Isaiah 7: 20-25, right smack dab in the middle of a declaration of how bad it's going to be, we have a seemingly out-of-place passage:

"In that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep, and because of the abundance of milk that they give, he will eat curds, for everyone who is left in the land will eat curds and honey."

Whatever the outcome of next week's election, whatever the path our government and economy takes, God has given hope and promise to His people. It doesn't mean Easy Street, but it does mean that we are His beloved children and He will make a way for us, He will provide for all our needs - right in the middle of it all.

The Well Ran Dry (And Our Cup Ran Over)

No, I'm not trying my hand at becoming a country music song-writer although the title of this posting might imply it. And goodness knows, we have song-writers everywhere you turn out here in our part of the country! There's no need for me to add to the bunch. One thing about country music, though, it talks pretty much about real life, and our own personal real-life could've been in a country song last week.

Next month will be the 2-year anniversary of Beau's birth and death, 18 months since John lost his job, all followed by just a whole string of profound events - lots of them disappointing. It's been a long haul lately. Then last week our well went dry.

No water, no income to speak of .... we felt like we'd been sucker-punched again. "God, don't you remember us down here? We're having a tough time - we need a break." So, we had ourselves a pity-party and figuratively cried in our beer. This is a country-music song, remember. Well, all this happened on a Friday night and the well-drilling guys who'd diagnosed the problem couldn't get back to us until Tuesday, so .... what to do? Horses drink a lot of water, we had our own dogs plus boarders, and of course, ourselves to consider. It just seemed overwhelming. Not to mention that we were told that most likely we were looking at a few thousand dollars of work. It might as well have been millions.

I put out an SOS for the horses's water and heard back from various folks, and as word leaked out amongst our friends, offers for places to stay started coming in. Art and Andrea said we could come get water from their farm, but before we could load up on Saturday morning to go get water, here they came with a flatbed trailer loaded with a 100-gal. trough and every plastic trunk they had filled with water! Our two empty 100-gallon troughs were both filled up! As we breathed a sigh of thankful relief, more offers of aid continued to come in - friends to stay with, farms to take the horses to if we needed - we were overwhelmed again, but this time with thankfulness.

So, during the course of spending the nights with friends, reassurances of care and concern came from every corner, joining us in prayer for the situation. We were seeing that God DID care, He DID see, HE DID know, and He cared for us, loved us, and provided for us through our friends. And not only did He provide for our needs, He put the cherry on top! A dear friend made it possible for me to have several pieces of clothing that I had admired. Someone anonymously had left a gift certificate for me to use at the hair-dresser. These were things that I surely didn't need, they weren't critical for our livelihood - and yet God in His unexplainable kindness said, "Here, I'd like you to have this today."

Oh, we have learned such a lesson through that dry well! Psalm 107:35 says, "He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water." In our need He showed us plenty. In our scarcity He showed us abundance. In our poverty He showed us wealth, and we were overwhelmed with His goodness. But, that wasn't all!

On Tuesday morning, the drilling guys showed up and went to work. Within an hour they were pulling up stakes and ready to go. "It wasn't dry after all," they told me. "Since it's been so dry, the water table's dropped and there wasn't enough water to force out some mud that had gotten in and sealed off the well. We just cleared it out and you're good."

No new well needed after all! Not even deeper drilling of our current well! What was going to be thousands of dollars had just dropped to a few hundred! God had answered our prayers abundantly. Our cup had runneth over all because of a dry well.

This is the drilling rig going to work.

Here's a rear view of it. Can you see that there's water underneath?!

It's hard to tell in the photo, but there's the slurry of mud that had sealed off the well. It looked like wet cement. See the running water at the top of the photo? Once that mud was gone, the water just flowed!

Here's the water coming up out of the well on it's own accord.

Again, it's hard to see, but that's a nice stream of water flowing down the right-hand side of the lane. Thanks be to God!

What Hath Jerusalem to do with Babylon?

In other words: why mix church and politics? That's a huge No-No in our day, in our culture, in our personal and public relationships. Absolutely taboo; just don't go there. Well, that whole line of thinking is a lie, and the Church has fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.

Way back when, Plato philosophied that all things were divided into 2 entirely separate realms: the spiritual and the earthly, or material. This, obviously, is Greek thought and not Judeo-Christian thought, but the Church picked up on Platonic thinking and integrated it so well that we have it with us to this day. In fact, we Christians often think more like Greeks than like Hebrews. (Biblical Hebrew-thought being that which is grounded in and emanating from the 10 Commandments.)

This conflict of philosophies in the Church led to many heresies, schisms, and all sorts of unpleasantness. It also leads to just plain old everyday Christian-living that's not quite on the mark. As C.H. Spurgeon said, "Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right." A subtle, but significant difference.

One ordinary out-working of Christo-Platonic thought can be seen in Medieval times in the burgeoning growth of monasteries, orders, and sects. It was assumed that a person, even a Christian person, would take either the route of the spiritual/heavenly realm, or the earthly/material realm. Thus, when a person felt the call of God upon their heart, it was immediately assumed that they must abandon ordinary life and become a priest, a nun, or a hermit of some kind. It was not thought that you could remain in an earthly occupation and be spiritually-minded. Unfortunately, this kind of thinking pervades our lives today.

Today we have compartmentalized our Christian lives so well that we have our "work life", our "family life", our "recreational life", our "church life", etc. - and never the twain shall meet. But this is fractured living, and as Christians our life is to be integrated, doing all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31) ALL, not just "church life." Have integrity at work, love sacrificially in the family, be honest in play. "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof ..." (Psalm 24:1-2) As Abraham Kuyper said, "There is not one square inch in the whole domain of creation over which God does not cry, 'Mine!'" And that includes the realm of public policy, or its more common name of politics.

"Christian political activity is to be nothing more and nothing less than the declaration, "Jesus is Lord," the most basic of all Christian declarations. For a Christian to ignore the realm of politics is to ignore the regency of Jesus Christ in that area." - George Grant, "The Changing of the Guard"

We the church have fallen to the lie of Platonic thought, and have abandoned the realm of public policy and government, thinking it to be worldly, earthly, beneath us. And what happens when the church moves out? The world moves in. It is impossible for a vacuum to exist by itself. Therefore, Church, we have the culture in which we live because we have consented to it.

God's Old Testament people, the nation of Israel, did the same thing and suffered the consequences. Pretty fatal ones, nationalistically-speaking. In Isaiah 1, the Lord tells them,

"Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ... If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." (vs. 16-20)

Doing good, seeking justice, correcting oppression, bringing justice to widows and orphans ... is this not spiritual work? Is this work that the Church should avoid, thinking it earthly? Not at all, but we the Church have allowed our government to do just the opposite in the very name of these things. The eye of justice is no longer blind; churches are restricted in doing good; the poor, the widow, and the orphan are oppressed as they are held down by the Government through dependence upon the State. It takes gargantuan effort for a person to break free from Uncle Sam's Plantation known as the Welfare State. We must repent of our Platonic thinking and return to Biblical principles. We must involve ourselves in the realm of public policy, or deny the Lordship of Christ.

"... God ordains civil government, it is a sacred institution and an honorable and holy vocational field, and thus those who serve in that arena are ministers under the hand of providence." (George Grant, "Changing of the Guard")

Church and Politics DO mix - may we as God's people serve obediently and righteously as unto Him.

A Fowl Lesson, or What I Learned From Chickens

We board dogs. And cats. And this year, college students. Oh yes, and horses. The little endeavor has been successful, but this year handed us a challenge we hadn't met before - fleas. You'd think with all the animals around here that would have been a problem long ago, but it wasn't until this summer that we got hit by fleas - and that's not good for business.

Since I'm an organic, all-things-natural freak, I just refused to go the usual pesticide route and decided it was time to get some flea-and-tick-eating-machines - Guinea Fowl.

The Guineas are really good at their job, but not only that - they're very entertaining. Since I raised them from chicks, I am - apparently - Mama, and when I step outside they come running and flapping and squawking. It's hysterical. I told John I now have an official fan club.

One day, the Mockingbirds decided that they'd had enough of the new neighbors, and undertook a day-long battle against the Guineas. They played the part of attack aircraft and dive-bombers while the Guineas played the part of the tanks. The Guineas ended up with a lot of feathers out of place, but their steadfastness won the day and the Mockingbirds conceded defeat.

Here's a photo of "The Yard Patrol."Of course, now that we had one kind of fowl roaming around, there's no reason not to have chickens, right? I've always wanted chickens, so why not? So I went to the shopping source of anything-you-want (a.k.a. Craigslist) and found someone who builds Chicken Arks. Chicken Whats? Arks - you know, something that's carried around with pole-like handles. Not like Noah's. This particular ark is an English design and is really pretty clever. Google it and you'll probably find some plans. This design allows for free-ranging the birds on grass without the danger of predators. Every 2 - 4 days you move it to another spot - the chickens have eaten bugs, aerated the grass and fertilized it as well. AND you get eggs!I found my chickens on good ol' Craigslist, too. They were on a farm not far away, and the farmer and I had some good exercise chasing chickens for awhile. Older farmers around here are just wonderful. They're weather-beaten and gnarled and kind as anything. They love to tell stories about the land and their animals, and I love to listen. So, Mr. Mayhew told me all I needed to know about chickens, and I went home with 3 Red Stars and 3 Black Sex-links (which are a cross between a leghorn ("leggern") and something else he didn't remember.Here are a couple of Red Stars eyeing the iPhone.

These are young chickens - pullets - that have just begun to lay, and I was told it may take them a week to settle down after their truck ride home before they began laying again. But, apparently they liked their new digs and we had our first egg in just 2 days! It was as much fun as Easter egg hunting to find that egg!The Guineas ("The Guys") and the hens ("The Girls") make good neighbors for each other and it really is pleasant for us to watch the birds - kind of like watching cows, I guess - it's good for your blood pressure.

It's also good as a reminder of my relationship with the Lord. And how - you may ask - how could silly, simple birds teach me something about myself and my Creator? Easy. This morning I accidently missed the latch on one of the Chicken Ark doors and several minutes later out flew all the chickens! Chickens and Guineas were everywhere and I thought, dear Lord, what am I going to do? Well, I didn't have to think for long because as soon as they spotted me about 100 feet away, they all came running and squawking straight for me! Despite the fact that the chickens were suddenly in the great unknown, they spotted what they did know and came running. I'm quite sure that it had to do with the fact that I feed them, but nevertheless they came running. It ended up being no problem getting them back in the Ark - just throw some food in and voila! chickens are safely home. And it immediately make me think ...

When I am suddenly thrust outside my safe circumstances and everything becomes strange and frightening, do I look for the Father and run lickety-split straight to Him? Often not. Many times I fall prey to the predator of self-sufficiency, thinking that I can take care of everything all by myself. I'm strong and able, right? No, I'm more like a chicken just running around aimlessly and not seeing the big picture. I just THINK I can manage it all.

Jesus tells us to come to Him. His yoke is easy, his burden light. (Matthew 11: 28-29) He is peace and strength and rest and provision. It's not up to me anyway - it never was. I don't have to exhaust myself by trying to figure it all out - I have only to run to Him who loves me and cares for me.

"... who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began..." 2 Timothy 1: 9

So it is that God reveals Himself to us and speaks comfort to us through His Word and through His creation - even chickens.

Do You Consent?

If you've read any of the original writings of the Founding Fathers, you saw that history clearly records that the Founders established our nation upon Biblical principles. As they wrote the Declaration of Independence, and then the Constitution, they drew upon Scripture to instruct them in the ways of wisdom and liberty.

The Declaration states that governments derive "their just powers from the consent of the governed -." In the years prior to the American Revolution, 1 Samuel 8 was a favorite text preached in churches throughout the colonies. The same passage was Thomas Paine's primary theme in his pamphlet "Common Sense." It's time well-spent reading this passage, but for sake of space here, I'll just give you the story outline:

The Israelites decide they no longer want to be a Theocracy, they want a king like all the other nations, so they go to Samuel to ask him to appoint a king for them. Samuel goes to God about their request and He tells him to grant the people their request, for they have forsaken God as their king and want to go after other gods. But - and here's the kicker - God gives them advance warning about how a king will reign over them. A king will:

Make slaves of them and their children.

He will take a tenth of their produce and give it to his servants. (Try about 50% these days.)

He will take their employees and make them his own servants.

He will take a tenth of their possessions.

Then God warns them that they will cry out to Him for help, but he will not hear them because they have chosen to go after false gods and have rejected him. So, Samuel tells this to the people, and they reply, "No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles." Then Samuel agrees to do what they have consented to, and he appoints them a king.

The nation of Israel consented. They consented to sell themselves and their children into servitude. Why on earth would they have traded their independence for that?! For a couple of reasons that we can see in this story: ( 1 ) They wanted to be like other nations. They wanted to be cool. ( 2 ) They were lazy and abdicated their responsibilities. They wanted the king to "go out before us and fight our battles."

American Christians have consented to the government we now have. We've run after the latest and greatest ideas, trading time-proven wisdom and principle for fads. We have been lazy. We've abdicated our responsibilities and now want the government to fight our battles for us. There are hungry people in the street? Oh, the government will take care of them. Can't afford to pay your medical bills? Oh, the government will take care of it. You're company has mismanaged its way into oblivion? Oh, the government will take care of it, after all, it's too big to fail. Our President promises a government that will take care of you from cradle to grave if only you will surrender your consent and abdicate all personal responsibility. Why, President Obama will give you money and refrigerators and new kitchens.

The government is not "them," it is "us." "We the People" have given our consent. Will you continue to consent, or will you withdraw it?

Things Above and Things of Earth

The morning's text at Sunday worship today was Colossians 3:1-4, "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

This is the central theme of Colossians - Christ, the center of all things. Pastor Nate spoke of seeking and setting as found in this passage -active, focused words depicting 'movement towards' and 'founding on' a whole new life. When we seek those things that are above, we must set our minds upon them and if we don't, we fall back into anxiousness and worry, supposing ourselves to be our own savior. Thus, we find life to be a series of pendulum swings between pride and despair.

So what are those heavenly things that we're supposed to seek? And how do we find them? Those things are where Christ is, and we find them by looking to him and not to ourselves. Our salvation is assured by the strength of the position of the One who saved me.

Pastor Nate concluded his message with two statements that really caused me to think back over the last 20 months or so: "As we look at those heavenly things, all of the rest of our life falls into line, into it's own priority beneath Christ." And "We will seek the risk of the Kingdom if we know that we are rooted in, founded upon, set in Christ."

Even though I have loved Christ as my savior from an early age, I have had a great propensity to try to be my own savior. It's that classic old original sin, thinking that I actually knew better than God. It got Adam and all of mankind into a lot of trouble and it's been no different for me! Coming to the end of my rope got my attention, and the knowledge in my head of the sufficiency and efficacy of Christ finally moved into my heart. Seeking and setting were key.

So how do you seek Christ and set your mind on him when the tempest of life is howling around you? God's word, first and foremost, is solid and sure. But, when your mind is raging it can be kind of difficult to read the Bible, if not downright impossible sometimes. That's where seeking and setting came into play, and for me that meant going, week after week, to Sunday worship. Even in the midst of confusion or pain, darkness or despair, there I could say the Word in the Call to Worship, the Corporate Confession, and the Profession of Faith as found in the Apostle's Creed. I could pray the Word in the Lord's Prayer itself. I could sing the word in various songs and hymns, the Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei, and even in the singing of the Benediction. I could hear the Word in the Old and New Testament readings, the Scriptural Text, the Assurance of Pardon. And finally, I could taste the Word in the Eucharist. Week after week, the work of the Word did its steady and sure work upon my heart and brought me to firmer ground.

I know that my life isn't fixed. It can't be until I step into eternity, but in the meantime when life begins its inevitable ups and downs, I know that the sure and certain Word will be my refuge and my rock.

Old Dimes and New

A winter storm blew through Tennessee three days ago. It began it's work of snow and ice in the southern plains and basically travelled on I-40 East all the way through North Carolina, leaving a white-covered world in its wake. Though we received several inches of snow and a thorough coating of ice, we were more fortunate than some and didn't lose power, which is good for more reasons than warmth and convenience since our water well runs on electricity!

The storm began innocently enough with gentle snowflakes, but before it was finished we had horses looking more like horscicles with their icy manes and tails, and a thick crust of ice over the snow, making it necessary to punch through with every footstep in order to walk up to the barn. Good exercise, especially going uphill, but a little more treacherous going downhill!

Then last night the clouds cleared away and the incredible, unearthly beauty of a full moon shone on all that snow and ice! How to describe such a scene? I could either use a hundred words or condense it down to one ... silvery. As John and I stood on the front porch and gazed at the scene, it was like looking out on a world wrought in silver. Now I've spent the last several days cleaning coins both old and new (a story for another blog), and all I could think of while surveying the beautiful night time view, was "old silver." The charcoal grey of the sky, the soft, white shining snow, the brilliant twinkling of stars and ice-covered trees and ground showed forth that old, warm brilliance of aged and worn silver, the kind of silver you've seen in old china cabinets in the homes of old families; well-used, well-worn, and well-loved with years of service and beauty. That's what the night looked like.

The next morning was another picture altogether! Such sun-dazzling, sparkling, brilliant white! Every ice crystal on the snow leapt up in the sunlight - it was as if there were 3-D sparkles everywhere! Again, after haying and chores, I stood on the front porch surveyed the view, thinking of the difference between last night's snow and ice scene and this morning's scene, and again I thought of silver; but this time it was the silver of a bright new dime, stunningly beautiful with it's brilliant pristine polish. But as I looked and pondered, it occurred to me that perhaps I preferred the softer glow of older silver."For you, O God, have tested us;

you have tried us as silver is tried." (Psalm 66:10)

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord." (Malachi 3:3)

Perhaps after all these years I have become more like those old silver coins; rubbed and refined to a good, old polish. The flash and brilliance has faded, but hopefully what is true and pure has remained, to the glory and praise of the Refiner.

A Few Good Men

Anyone out there looking for a good man? Or is there anyone out there wanting to BE a good man, but doesn't have a role model to learn from? It seems that good men are hard to find these days!

Proverbs 31 gives us a great example of a godly woman, and we find qualifiers for Elders and Deacons in the New Testament which gives us a good idea of what a godly man should look like, but there is a description of the young man David, prior to his kingship, that really jumped out at me as a great example of a godly man.

1 Samuel 16:18 says, "One of the young men answered, "Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him."

Still just a young man, David already has a good reputation among the people. That's something to think about when a young lady is considering a young man. Is he held in high regard, or does he have a reputation that's less than desirable? No one should be making excuses for him.

David was skillful in playing the lyre. A man should not despise the arts as being silly or feminine. Chest-beating lifestyles depict a man who is insecure. A godly man recognizes and values the gifts of art that God gives to men and gives time to knowing them better.

David was a man of valor. Remember Chivalry? It seems to have gone completely out of mind in our day and age. A godly man remembers Chivalry - he is a man of virtue, a servant of God and of man.

David was a man of war. This doesn't mean that he went around picking a fight. In the Psalms he continually pleaded with God to deliver him from his enemies that he might have peace. However, David knew how to protect and defend, and he was obedient to God to drive out the enemy and establish the Kingdom in its place. So does any godly man.

David was prudent in speech. A godly man knows when to speak and when to be quiet and listen - he guards his mouth. His speech is not that of a fool, throwing words into the wind or speaking only in order to impress. A godly man's word is well-considered and carries weight.

David was a man of good presence. Like his speech, a godly man carefully considers his ways. He continually asks God, 'Will this glorify you if I do it?"

And most important of all these characteristics, the Lord was with David. In order for a man to be godly, he must - of course! - be with the Lord. Any man who isn't cannot possess the virtues listed above, for it is only by the Spirit of the Lord that any of us can walk in righteousness. This is a point that cannot be denied or ignored. Even when David sinned, he had a heart of repentance unto restoration and this only comes from walking with God.

So, ladies, if you are considering marriageable men you would do well to keep a Biblical example in mind. And remember, the scripture says he was ruddy and handsome and that's a good thing, too! Young men, if you are looking for a good role model for manhood, look first of all to your Lord and Savior, and then consider King David. Be one of those few on the narrow path - seek out Godliness as shown in the Scripture and in your older Christian brothers so that you will be able to disciple others, also. There are good men that can be found after all - now go find them!

Turn and be Healed

Most Christians are familiar with the passage from 2 Chronicles 7:13-14. These verses occur during the telling of King Solomon's dedication and consecration of the Temple. It was a grand and solemn occasion and the entire host of Israel attended. There - amongst the sacrifices, feasts, and song - was Solomon's message about the promises of God to His people; and along with His promises came stipulation and judgement for failure to obey His word. The passage from II Chronicles reads thus:

"When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

Here we see judgement for the disobedience of God's people - not for the unbeliever - and God's instruction on what we should do when judgement falls. (And, by the way, locusts and pestilence aren't always in the form of pests and pandemics.) When Believers realize that it is they who have sinned and brought judgement on themselves and their land, we can read throughout Scripture about how we can humble ourselves and seek God's forgiveness and mercy. Today I came across a passage in 1 Samuel that revealed more on this subject.

"And Samuel said to the people, "Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the LORD with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. For the LORD will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself ... I will instruct you in the good and the right way. Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king." ~ 1 Samuel 12:20-25

Again we see promise, stipulation, and judgement set out for us. We American Modern Believers have the opportunity to repent from our sin and see our country healed, but we must forsake our empty ways. We - the Church - have run after things that will not satisfy: wealth and prosperity, eternal youth, success, pleasure, fame; and I don't just mean individually, but as the CHURCH. We have chased after the wind and failed to seek after God. We have become idolators and we are reaping the whirlwind.

But, we can still repent, turn from our wicked ways and seek God's face - He promises He will not forsake us and will heal our land. If we refuse to turn and continue to chase after idols, the result is plain - we will be swept away, we and our king.

All Dogs Go to Heaven

"Scripture says a great deal about animals, portraying them as Earth's second most important inhabitants. God entrusted animals to us, and our relationships with animals are a significant part of our lives." - Randy Alcorn, Heaven.

Last week, we laid to rest our four-legged family member and friend. Chloe was a 5-year old, 145 lb. American Mastiff, who in life was literally a huge presence, and now in death leaves a huge hole; both in our home and in our hearts.

John and I first met her as a 2-week-old, and I had the opportunity to bottle-feed her. She was small enough then to lay easily on my lap with her head and bottle in my one hand. Once she was grown, my hand could only compare to the size of her paw. She had a massive head and jaws, but would take a treat from me in the most ginger of ways. I always thought she had the head of a bear and the body of a lion - she was beautiful, and it was a joy to watch her long, easy stride as she walked. It was also terribly impressive to feel the house shake when she leapt into the air to catch a toy. One of her favorite games was to chase the flashlight beam, and every evening she would stand patiently in front of John asking him to get the flashlight. If he didn't get the flashlight when she wanted, she woofed at him - and her woofs were hard to ignore.

Chloe woofed a lot. Her woofs were very distinct, as anyone with a dog knows. She had an "I -am-sitting-down-now" woof, a "let me out" woof as well as a "let me in" woof. (Pet owners are, after all, simply doormen.) Her "someone is here" woof was extremely intimidating to whomever was outside the door, and she also had lots of complaining, whining noises, too. We thought she sounded a great deal like Star War's Chewbacca when she was complaining about something. We miss the sounds she made - her woofs, her whines, and her human-sounding walking in the house. We miss her.As we drove home from the vet the day she was put to sleep, I found myself wondering - as if I were 5-years old - where was Chloe now? Was she romping the hills of heaven? Or was she simply gone? Who can say for sure? We do know that God considers animals to be very important, not made in God's image as man is, but a part of His creation upon which he pronounced good. Eden wouldn't have been Eden without the animals, created as helpers and companions for men. They were given a special relationship to man, and he was to care for and nurture them. In fact, of all God's creation, He gave to man the right and responsibility to name the animals. Considering this unique kind of relationship man has with the animals - perfect in Eden - it seems likely that when God brings us finally to the New Heavens and the New Earth, He will restore the animals right along with the rest of the earth and creation. Does this mean I get to see my Chloe again? I don't know, but I'd like to think so. Is it wrong to grieve the death of our pets with whom we have such a unique relationship? No. God gave them to us to love and it is a true loss when they're gone. God gave Chloe as a blessing to us, and I'm thankful for all that that means."In her excellent book about Heaven, Joni Eareckson Tada says, 'If God brings our pets back to life, it wouldn't surprise me. It would be just like Him. It would be totally in keeping with His generous character ... Exorbitant. Excessive. Extravagant in grace after grace. Of all the dazzling discoveries and ecstatic pleasures heaven will hold for us, the potential of seeing Scrappy would be pure whimsy - utterly, joyfully surprisingly superfluous ... Heaven is going to be a place that will refract and reflect in as many ways as possible the goodness and joy of our great God, who delights in lavishing love on His children.'"

"In a poem about the world to come, theologian John Piper writes,

'And as I knelt beside the brook

To drink eternal life, I took

A glance across the golden grass,

And saw my dog, old Blackie, fast

As she could come. She leaped the stream-

Almost-and what a happy gleam

Was in her eye. I knelt to drink,

And knew that I was on the brink

Of endless joy. And everywhere

I turned I saw a wonder there." (Randy Alcorn, Heaven)

Maybe I'll see my Chloe in heaven after all.