New Year's Eve, 2012

Revelation 21:5

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

About this Sunday

It will be 2012, and time to discuss World's end-of-2011 issue.  The usual columns and departments are still there, but there is no focused "cover story" in this one. End-of-the year coverage begins on p. 16 and meanders on until about p.63 with page by page accounts of major events in 2011. Be prepared to discuss any and all - and to pray a bunch for 2012!

Bible reading in 2012

Eddie Taylor and some friends from Grace Church, Sierra Vista, have been discussing Bible reading plans on their message board this week, in preparation for new disciplines in the new year. I would like to encourage Dove Mountaineers to recommit to the discipline of Bible reading, as well.  Here are a variety of plans to choose from.                                                                                      I'll put in my own plug here for the one identified in the list as Professor Grant Horner's plan. I used it in the 1970's and it was formative in my Christian life. It is time-intensive, but extremely worthwhile. I found it more enjoyable than the usual "read the Bible in one year" and similar plans.

Local Kerfluffle

Protesting students disrupted a Tucson Unified
School District board meeting in May, 2011

Administrative Judge Lewis Kowal ruled yesterday in favor of State Superintendent of Education John Huppenthal's long-standing quarrel that Tucson Unified School District's "Mexican American Studies" program violates a state law against studies aimed a specific ethnicity. It is expected that the district will file a counter-suit costing taxpayers even more money (when one government entity sues another, it's the taxpayer that loses!). At stake are about $15 million in funds which TUSD will lose unless some court of appeal will overthrow Judge Kowal's decision.

This has been an ugly and vituperative fight, and it's not over yet. There is so much sin on each side that one  hardly knows where to begin.

It is true that:
          Generations of white Americans have exploited and mistreated Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, in spite of the fact that they were here long before the whites.

However,
          Even though many of those most protesting the Arizona law are here illegally, Tucson High School endorsed a hard core activist to speak at an assembly last year, leading the (mostly Hispanic) students in chanting, "We didn't cross the border; the border crossed us!"

In addition,
          Students who chained themselves to desks in the school board meeting last spring were more concerned about whether their "right" to study the history of political oppression against Mexicans was being infringed on, than whether or not they might be breaking a law.

It should be noted here that:
           The Mexican-American studies course can substitute as a graduation requirement in place of courses on U.S. history and government.

It's all sin, and none of it is education. It's all political, and none of it is redemptive in any form. Nothing will improve through raw exhibitions of political power, either judicial or legislative. Nothing will improve as long as each side is pointing and saying, "Your sins are worse than mine!"  Somebody has to repent of something, some time, somewhere. Somebody has to fear God, and love his own ego less. Somebody has to obey God's revealed will.

Who would like to go first?

Amazing things that people write...

And I don't mean amazing in a good way!

Some people know that I do not "suffer fools" lightly (or quietly), but lately there are too many fools to keep up with! Now I have help from my long-time hero, Dr. Marvin Olasky, editor of World Magazine.  In his latest article he cites his favorite "mush" from the Media Research Center's anuual awards for "worst journalism."

Here is a sample of the article:

"I didn't realize that Tea Party folks were terrorists, but New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman equated them to Hezbollah, and within a week fellow Times columnist Joe Nocera was writing that 'Tea Party Republicans have waged jihad on the American people" and wear "suicide vests.' MSNBC's Chris Matthews similarly observed that 'the GOP has become the Wahhabis of American government.'"

You can read the whole article here or see the complete list of awards here.

Happy Boxing Day

BOXING DAY


by Lee Emmet

Boxing Day is a time of rest
clean up house after Christ-fest

recovering from food overload
put up feet, not the time to hit road

talk about fun of Christmas day
old folk sit around while children play

Happy Birthday, Brad!

Joyous Christmas Day!

Luke 2:
1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

Christmas Eve: The Christ Candle

Isaiah 9:
1Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.

2The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
3Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
5For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.


6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

7Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Planning Ahead for WorldMovers

Here is the cover of the next issue we will discuss - the special year-end issue.  Unfortunately, we won't get to it unti the "year-beginning," since there is no Sunday School scheduled for this Sunday, which is Christmas Day.

It might be a good time to reprint the previously stated "essential purposes of WorldMovers class"....

1. To see what is going on around us with understanding: "And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" Matthew 16:3
2. To seek Biblical wisdom for present day problems and choices: "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." Acts 17:11
3. To prepare ourselves to speak wisely, according to God's revelation: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" I Peter 3:15
4. To bring the urgent issues of our day before the heart of God in prayer: "Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me." Micah 7:7

Please note that "to promote political activism," "to persuade members toward one political party," and "to prove that transitory, earthly affairs are more important than the eternal, unchanging gospel of Jesus Christ" are not among the purposes.

Just saying.

Today's "morality in America" article

Read about how 5000 Texans responded to out-of-state atheists who were meddling with their observance of Christmas here.

An excerpt from the article:

"Atheists consistently present their case as “more intellectual” than that of Christianity, as reflected in their deposed banner. Atheism proposes there are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only this natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.


Christians need to be very clear in their thinking when they see this worldview and need not be intimidated. Atheists have no empirical proof that there are “no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell.” Atheists must contend with the evidence of design in the world’s creation, the verifiable history of Israel and, most importantly, the life, teachings, miracles and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God help them!"

Historical Revisionism

I know that I rant pretty often about stupid things people say on talk radio, but it's hard to stay silent.

Yesterday a caller to Michael Medved asserted that most Americans are not free, because freedom requires wealth, and wealth is concentrated in the hands of a very few. Medved countered (correctly) that freedom is opportunity, and that still exists in abundance in this country, although there are greater government restrictions on freedom every year. He also pointed out that someone else's wealth is not a limitation to your opportunity, and that most poverty in America is among recent immigrants and the very young. Statistically, there are very few people over 40 who qualify as "poor," implying that they had found opportunities, used them, and succeeded.

The caller then went on to extol the "successes" (he actually used that word) of twentieth century leaders like Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse-Tung for "equalizing opportunity" and improving the economies of Russia and China. Medved thought he was joking, at first. Further discussion proved that he was utterly sincere, but completely clueless about the millions of victims these men had slaughtered to achieve their political ends, as well as the fact that economic success did not come to either of these countries until they modified collectivism to allow for free enterprise.

The point is that this caller did not speak in the vocabulary of a high school drop out, nor with the speech inflections of a recent immigrant. So where did he learn such one-sided history? I know the answer, and if you do as well, you should join me in my passion to teach truth to the next generation.

"A Visit to Bethlehem" with Jerry Kindall

Some Dove Mountaineers remember Jerry Kindall as an elder at Catalina Foothills Church, while others (like Jack Hauschildt) remember him as a second baseman for the Chicago Cubs, (or if you're Steve Johnson) the Cleveland Indians, or (Audrey Johnson and others) the Minnesota Twins. Rabid U of A fans like myself think of him as having won three NCAA baseball championships while coaching here in Tucson. This member of the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and author of two books has been much in demand in his retirement years as a speaker, and will be speaking to the Tucson Business Fellowship tomorrow morning at the Manning House at 7:00 AM on "A Visit to Bethlehem." You can find registration information here.

Marlene's question

Alan Chambers, Exodus International

Yesterday in our discussion of World's "Daniel of the Year," Alan Chambers of Exodus International, Marlene directed our attention to this paragraph:

"Friends in church met with Chambers regularly, prayed with him, and even retrieved him from a gay bar on Easter Sunday evening when they saw his car in the parking lot. When change didn't happen overnight, they didn't give up."

Marlene's question for us was whether we, either as individuals or as a church, could or would do the same if there were a person stuggling to overcome homosexuality in our midst. I'm not sure any of the discussion which followed adequately dealt with Marlene's question, so I would like to spend some time with it here.

One of the things that Alan Chambers stressed in the article was that when he began attending the church described in the paragraph, he "...met people who 'didn't looked at me cross-eyed because of what I struggled with. They didn't think my stuff was any different than their stuff. They were just committed to helping me like somebody helped them.'"

I think that is the bottom line to the question. Can we as Christians welcome (fellow) sinners whose struggles just happen to be different than ours? Or those who are at a different place in their journey than we are?  If the answer is "no," based simply on the fact that we are "uncomfortable" around "those kinds of people," or because disciplng them might take us down some roads we are unwilling to travel on, then that's sin, too.  And as we have said many times in WorldMovers, God doesn't prefer one kind of sin over another.

If the heart attitude is right, and we are willing to "not look cross-eyed" at such people, are we to beat ourselves up because they are not flocking to our doors? That is a missional question that we should discuss thoughtfully as Dove Mountaineers.

I have long been opposed to the "program-based design" model for churches, in which consumers shop around and look for the church that has the most to "offer." We could all give examples of what this looks like. I'm interested in the "people-based design" model. In this approach we look at those whom God has brought together and ask, "What are we to do individually, and what are we to do corporately, in order to be the people of God in the geographical place God has planted us?" Not every church will have a Stephen Ministry, or AWANA, or a Titus ministry, or whatever. But all churches must preach the gospel and provide incarnational examples of redeemed lives.    

In his column in the bulletin yesterday, Pastor Ed exhorted us to be "good salesmen" for the church, and we should pay heed to that. And he is right that the services of Christmas coming up this week end ar a good opportunity for that. And if our efforts result in some folks coming who are struggling with...whatever... we must do our best, by God's strength, to not look cross-eyed at them.    


 

Fourth Sunday in Advent: God with us!

Isaiah 7:10-14
10Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,

11Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
12But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.
13And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
14Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Today's Losungen

Saturday, December 17 

Nahum the Prophet

Psalm 144:5-8 Nahum 3; Habakkuk 1; Revelation 14:17-15:8

King of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your nobles lie down to rest. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them. Nothing can heal you; your wound is fatal. All who hear the news about you clap their hands at your fall, for who has not felt your endless cruelty?  Nahum 3:18-19

They made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart. 1 Chronicles 29:9

Just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also. 2 Corinthians 8:7

Holy Child of God, we contemplate what we will bring to you this season of birth and light. What will we offer you at the manger? Whatever gifts we bring, we will bring them with whole hearts and gratefulness beyond measure. Amen.

Back on track

Because of the recent potluck, WorldMovers class will not be spending our usual two weeks on the December 3rd issue of World. Instead, we will go straight to the cover story of the Dec. 17th issue about this year's Daniel of the Year, Alan Chambers.

Remember, the discussion is better when class members have read the article in advance!

Immigration update

In last Sunday's discussion of the illegal immigration situation in WorldMovers, we agreed that it ought to be reasonable for a strong national government to come up with a rational "guest worker" policy that would effectively protect national security and the economy without being intrusive to personal freedom and liberty. We also applauded the statements made by some of the presidential candidates in last Saturday's debate about what to do about solving the problem of the millions of undocumented immigrants who have already been living here for many years.

This week the Supreme Court agreed to hear the federal case agains the state of Arizona's S.B. 1070,which requires law enforcement officers to inquire as to the legal status of possible lawbreakers, including traffic laws. You can read World's update about this case here.

Unfortunately, the outcome of this case will not really "solve" the present crisis. It is essentially an argument over jurisdictions. Can individual states create laws about immigration, or is that exclusively a federal prerogrative?  Either outcome has the potential to uphold the status quo, which is already very ineffective. 

Fortunately, we can pray. When we pray about these issues in WorldMovers, here are some of the petitions we make:

1)  that individual Christians and churches would have compassion on the "strangers in the land" (Leviticus 19:34 and Deuteronomy 10:19)
2)  that God would give us wise and just leaders (Proverbs 8:15)
3)  that God will grant us peace within our borders (Psalms 147:14)
4)  that God will deliver us from our enemies (Psalm 18:3). 

He said it - not me!

I recently mentioned Voddie Baucham's book, Family-Driven Faith, and I indicated I will be sharing quotations from it from time to time.

After discussing what family-driven faith looks like in the home, Baucham moves to looking at the role of the church.  From chapter nine:

  

"While I believe the vast majority of those who shepherd segregated portions of congregations are well meaning and would never presume to replace parents in their biblical role, I believe the modern American practice of age group segregation goes beyond the biblical mandate. I believe it is the product of the American education system, and in some cases it actually works against families as opposed to helping them pursue multigenerational faithfulness. I believe the church's emphasis ought to be on equipping parents to disciple their children instead of doing it on their behalf."

Baucham then goes on to make three points about current age group practices in American churches: it isn't biblically mandated, it works against the biblical model, and it isn't working, anyway. Worth reading the book! 

Links you can use

After WorldMovers this past Sunday, a class member stopped me and asked, "Besides World magazine, where can I learn more about the Republican candidates?" So this blog today is in reply to that question.   

But before I answer it, let me respond to a criticism I have received from a fellow Dove Mountaineer, who has alleged that I am too partisan to identify this blog with Dove Mountain Church. For those who are heairng this allegation for the first time, I would simply direct your attention to the disclaimer at the right, which states that I neither speak for the session or for every member of Dove Mountain Presbyterian Church. At the same time, I write to Dove Mountaineers in response to their questions (through WorldMovers and other contacts), and about Dove Mountaineers, as a caring brother joined to the same organ of the Body of Christ.

I reiterate that here, because I am about to provide some links which contain information and views which I cannot fully endorse. The fact that they are all Republican and (mostly) conservative is due to the fact that we already know who the Democrat candidate is going to be in the next general election. Therefore, as a service to my Sunday School class, here are some sources of further information.

For those who are new to this, the words that are colored slightly differentsly are active links, and if you click on them, they will take you directly to a web site.

First, here are the sites for the candidates themselves: Mitch Romney, Newt Gingrich, Michelle Bachmann, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, and Rick Santorum. Bear in mind that these are very partisan in terms of what they say about their own candidate. Nevertheless, I have found many of the biographical details available on these sites to be quite interesting. I should mention also that most of them begin with obnoxious fund-raising appeals, and you may have to click through several pages sometimes to get to the "meat."

Secondly, you can find some analysis of the recent debate on the web sites of these commentators:  Hugh Hewitt, Michael Medved, and Dennis Prager.   

  

Moving from Passive to Active

I make it a point not to respond directly to readers’ comments on my articles at the Presidential Prayer Team web site. Any response of any kind could open cans of worms that would be too complicated to put back in order.

But here on this blog I’d like to analyze a recent reader’s comment. Reacting to my assertion that higher education (and most forms of government entitlement) are not a Biblical role of government, the reader wrote:

“However, I must ask how others are to be provided for without any government programs when they are not being taken care of now even with government programs in place (sic) and also how they are to be provided for when the percentage of church people in America who are willing simply to tithe is merely five percent.”

Setting aside, for the moment, the regrettable percentage of tithers, let me play the grammar geek for a minute and analyze what the writer was saying.

“To be provided for” (used twice) and “being taken care” are constructions in the passive voice. Active voice versions would say “X provides for Y (or even for X himself)” or “X takes care of Y (or X).”

This is more than a grammatical accident. We have moved from an “active” society [“I must take care of myself, trusting God for His Providence”] to a passive one [“I must be taken care of – by the government, God, anybody - but one thing’s for sure: my efforts are irrelevant.”]

One of the things I like best about classical Christian education is our emphasis on life in the past - not only in the teaching of history itself, but in the literature we select for the student to read. Stories like Little House on the Prairie, Robinson Crusoe, Swiss Family Robinson, Baby Island, Adam of the Road, House of 60 Fathers, and The Yearling (among dozens of other classics) show young people and families living simply, making sacrifices, fearlessly facing the unknown, trusting God, and surviving. Compared to the spoiled expectations of current American culture, it’s downright embarrassing.

As for the writer’s slam about meager numbers of Christians tithing (which is probably true, though possibly not as extreme as only five per cent), the author did not provide any proof or documentation. However, it has been demonstrated dramatically that believers give more time and money to secular charities than non-believers do. For the story behind this statistic, you can read the research here at the Hoover Institute.

This being true, combine that superiority with all the giving that is supporting thousands of churches, thousands of parachurch ministries, and thousands of missionaries, and maybe the problem isn’t just the church. If unbelievers were giving as generously as believers, who also pay taxes, maybe the net outcome would be more favorable to those in need. And this does not even touch on the fact that government systems are notorious for being abused and misused.

I am convinced this country would be better off without any government funds being used for “charity.”

1. Some people would have to wake up and take responsibility for themselves.

2. Defunding all of the government aid schemes would put more money back in the hands of individuals.

3. Local agents (non-governmental) could address local problems without expensive red tape and unwieldy “policies.”

4. We would be blessed for following biblical wisdom, instead of trying to build a Tower of Babel.

Third Sunday in Advent: Joy

Psalm 98

1 O sing to the Lord a new song,

for he has done marvellous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
have gained him victory.
2 The Lord has made known his victory;
he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.  All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises.


5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

the world and those who live in it.

8 Let the floods clap their hands;

let the hills sing together for joy

9 at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming

to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,

and the peoples with equity.

Linking the Latest

Here's a link to my latest article for Presidential Prayer Team:  "The 'right' to Higher Education,and the wrong way to fund it."  

"In Scripture, Paul told believers to be faithful in paying taxes for the purpose of upholding justice, as “an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” (Romans 13:4) There is no sanction anywhere in the Bible for government authority except for the purposes of national defense and the protection of personal safety and property."

For this Sunday in World Movers: illegal immigration

This is certainly a "hot button" issue in our part of the world, but let's see what the editors of World have to say about it. Come to class "read up" and prepared for this one; it's more interesting that way. Remember, our goal is not to find the partisan position, but the Biblical position.

And to pray!

December 7 retrospective

Pearl Harbor Day found me on a road trip to Phoenix yesterday, which afforded me lots of time to listen to talk radio. 

It was poignant to hear of the many gatherings of veterans and friends to observe this historic occasion, including one such gathering at our own state capital in Phoenix.

The saddest report was of the annual gathering of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association at the site of the attack in Hawaii. On their fiftieth reunion in 1991, there were several thousand survivors gathered. This year there were only a little over a hundred. They announced that this seventieth anniversary would be their last gathering, since the surviviors are fast becoming extinct.

One member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association said that the last time he spoke at a school assembly, about five eyars ago, a little girl (upon hearing him introdcued) raised her hand and asked, "WHo is Pearl Harbor?"  While such cute misundertandings are understandable, and even perhaps excusable in one so young, it underscores the need for each generation to pass this received cultural knowledge on to the enxt.  That is why those of us in the classical Christian school movement say that history is the core of our curriculum.

Distressing things I hear in the news

It is well-known that Tucson is not a business-friendly environment, and in our recent election, the most business-friendly candidates were not elected to the City Council, in spite of the efforts of two men I enjoy listening to in the morning, Chris DeSimone and Joe Higgins. On their morning drive-time show, "Wake Up, Tucson!" (AM 1030, KVOI), they consistently expose the hostility of Tucson and Pima County government towards business, and did a particularly good job explaining the issues in regard to the recent election, as well as interviewing all the candidates.

In his first press conference this week as our new mayor, Jonathan Rothschild (pictured) made a sweeping statement about wanting to improve the business climate of Tucson, proving that he at least aware that this is a hot-button issue locally. He then turned right back around and stated that one of his goals is to convince the (mostly Reublican) legislature that it should not cut funds to "education."  He actually claimed that these expenditures are "good for business."

A few minutes later on the same news broadcast came a separate story with a quotation from Michael Block, founder of the highly succesful BASIS charter schools here in Arizona. Block was quoted as advocating that public schools follow the economic model of BASIS (Block has a Ph.D. in economics, by the way) in what he described as a "more business-like model." Examples he gave were flexible hiring practices based on enrollment numbers and retention of teachers based on student performance. Such practices are clearly supported by current school choice research.

Neither of those common sense business practices are honored in the establishment that Mayor Rothschild refers to as "education," to which he blindly advocates "more money." Without disgressing into party analysis, it is safe to say that the mayor realizes a powerful voting block that helped him get elected. Lost in this quid pro quo is any consideration of (1) good business sense - the folly of throwing good money after bad, and (2) what is best for children - as opposed to protecting the adutls who are currently failing to educate them properly.

Listening to the news would be much less distressing if I didn't know a thing or two about learning, schools, and business. Not to mention wisdom from God's Word:  "How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?"  (Proverbs 1:22)

Family Driven Faith

Here's a book I will probably be quoting from quite a bit in the near future. I am trying to finish it this week (amid myriad other responsiblities) because Rags Ragland is champing at the bit to read it himself. For those of you who have never been to WorldMovers, Rags gives great book reports!

Here is a taste of its contents, to whet your appetite:

"Ask parents what they want most for their children, and yuo will likely get the same answer whether they are Christian or garden-variety unbelievers. They will likely say, 'I want my children to get a good education.' In fact, that's exactly what George Barna found when he interviewed Christian and non-Christian parents. The number one goal they had for their children was that they would get a good education.

I'm not suggesting there is anything wrong with emphasizing education for our children. On the contrary, my wife and I are fanatics when it comes to our children's education. However, our children's education is not our primary goal. Our rpimary goal for our children is that they walk with the Lord. Unfortunately, [Barna's] study found that only half as many parents (whether Christian or not) conisdered their children's having a relationship with Christ as important as their child's education."

Thoughts while listening to talk radio

Michael Medved with
his wife, Diane.

Proverbs 23:9
         Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

Colossians 2:8
          See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

2 Timothy 4:3
           For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

Proverbs 6:2
           Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

Proverbs 10:19
            In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.

Proverbs 19:27
            Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.

Note:  These thoughts are prompted primarily by the inane and illogical remarks of the callers, not the host.

Second Sunday in Advent: Comfort

Isaiah 40:1 

Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the LORD's hand
double for all her sins.
3 A voice cries out:
"In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
6 A voice says, "Cry out!"
And I said, "What shall I cry?"
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand forever.
9 Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good tidings;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
"Here is your God!"

Today's Losungen

Give generously to your needy brother and do so without a grudging heart. Deuteronomy 15:10 (NIV)

    Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and    action.  1 John 3:18

Our cups overflow while others' are empty. Steady our hearts and hands, great Comforter, as we share our abundance with the burdened and the broken. Amen.

Looking ahead with WorldMovers

As promised, I am using my Friday blog to talk about WorldMovers readings. However, as we know, this Sunday will be a potluck so Sunday School will not be in session. If we were keeping with our regular schedule, we would skip the cover story and talk about the rest of the issue the following Sunday, Dec. 11. However, the cover story in this issue has so much relevance for us here in southern Arizona, that we need not to skip it, so on December 11 we will be discussing the cover story of illegal immigration.  As always, be prepared to think through this issue scripturally, not just emotionally or politically.

It might be a good time to remind oursleves of the essential purposes of World Movers class: 

1.  To keep informed:  "And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?"  Matthew 16:3

2.  To seek Biblical wisdom:  "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."  Acts 17:11

3.  To prepare ourselves to speak wisely:  "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"  I Peter 3:15

4.  To bring the urgent issues of our day before the heart of God in prayer:  "Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me."  Micah 7:7

How do we know that "No two snowflakes are alike"?

We know because William Bentley published a book of over 2,400 snowflake images in 1931. Using his own miscroscope camera, Bentley was fascinated by snowflakes and humbly studied them in his barn/laboratory in Jericho, Vermont for most of his adult life. He was inspired by the reference in Job 38 to "treasures of the snow," and later said, "...the intricacies of God's design in the world can be seen...God uses his creation to declare his glory to us."   

We live in an age when many swear by "science," and scoff at "faith," but it has not always been so.  You can read more about "Snowflake Bentley," as he is now known, here

Join us in prayer

Pastor Ed has called the elders and deacons to a special "fifth Wednesday" prayer this morning.  We will be at the church office spending approximately an hour and a half in prayer along these guidelines:

• for the families and individuals of Dove Moutain Church
• for the vision and ministry of Dove Mountain Church
• for the advancement of the Kingdom of God in Tucson
• for the spread of the gospel around the world.

Please join us any time today, that we may be "...likeminded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose."  Philippians 2:2

It's a "longing for Narnia" kind of day...

And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do;  but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something you don’t understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning – either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too wonderful to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer.

Where we are losing the culture war

A recent rabbit trail on the internet provided me the opportunity me to review the current student handbook of a large eastern high school. This is, by the prevailing reckoning, a national and state "school of excellence."

I am no stranger to school handbooks, having authored a few myself, and I realize that they are of necessity both dry and rules-oriented. Here's what struck me about this one:

1.  Of the 31 pages, 14 pages were allotted to behavior policies, disciplinary procedures, and consequences;  11 pages to general information (timetables, lockers, driving privileges, etc.); and only 6 pages to anything related to academics. 
2.  The item with the greatest amount of information in the entire handbook was the the three-page, five-column chart of consequences for every possible behavior, with resultant consequences, delineated down to the fifth offense.
3.   Missing from the book was anything which connected the world of high school to the real world (except a warning about places where students with open lunch driving privileges were not allowed to go), any meaningful statement of intrinsic purpose in the education offered by the school, or anything that could remotely be considered wise, inspiring, uplifting.

Here's what it reflects to me.

1.  A beleaguered administration and faculty have tirelessly enumerated all the creative ways that  mischievous students with a fallen nature (and a boatload of repressed angst over the dysfunctinal home lives they represent) may possible misbehave. Subsequently, they are attempting to insulate themselves against the lawsuits and possible criminal charges which could ensue from their merely trying to get through the day unscathed.

2.  In terms of their academic mission, they have instituted creative protections to ensure that they only need to deal with the better students - Honors and AP classes, weighted grades for GPA inflation, a favored "professional" track (with others relegated to "skilled" and "entry" track), and so on. Their safety nets for the disinterested include a "credit recovery" scheme, grades based as much on participation as achievement, and provisions for "walking" at graduation even if one is a few credits short.

3.  Granted handbooks are not generally the place for philosophical discussions, it is nevertheless startling to contrast the finely honed disciplinary policies and consequences with the absence of anything encouraging, meaningful in terms of the purpose of education, or even remotely uplifting. Motivation, if it exists, is either within the student or comes from sources outside the system. This is an institution based on self-preservation.  

I could say so much more, but I call to your remembrance the fact that this represents one of the "best" of American high schools. Such impoverishment of spirit and substance cannot produce the leaders we need in this nation - and in the world at large. It is an accurate reflection of the lostness of our nation. 

First Sunday in Advent: Hope

You, LORD, are our father,
our redeemer you are named forever.
Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways,
and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
with the mountains quaking before you,
while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for,
such as they had not heard of from of old.
No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you
doing such deeds for those who wait for him.
Would that you might meet us doing right,
that we were mindful of you in our ways!
Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful;
all of us have become like unclean people,
all our good deeds are like polluted rags;
we have all withered like leaves,
and our guilt carries us away like the wind.
There is none who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to cling to you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have delivered us up to our guilt.
Yet, O LORD, you are our father;
we are the clay and you the potter:
we are all the work of your hands.

Isaiah 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7

From Today's Losungen

The Prophet Joel as imagined
by Michelangelo
(Fresco, Sistine Chapel
Ceiling, 1508–1512)

Be glad and rejoice in the Lord your God.

Joel 2:23

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.

Philippians 4:4-5

Lord, we rejoice that you are here! You are with us, in us, and among us! You came to the simple, the ordinary, and the untouchables to establish your kingdom. We pray that your shalom comforts and gives hope to your children who are affected by disease.

Amen.

Week #2 on this issue

Thoughts to guide your reading of the current issue:

Time for choosing, p. 4, describes a fascinating online experiment by the Tea Party to determine what should be cut formt he federal budget.  I have downloaded the results and will have the available tor ead or borrow in class.

Find Your Family First, p. 36, contrasts the decimation of American families (due to divorce, single parenthood, remote job searches and commitments, etc.) with the forced decimation in war-torn Sudan and other locales (due to armed conflict, refugee status, political asylum, etc.).

Holding Fast, p. 50, highlights the work of some organizations we should learn more about:  International Christian Concern and Operation World.

Signs of the Times, p. 61, goes beyond summarizing the legal conflict Austin's LifeCare Pregnancy Center to telling about its "Earn while you Learn" program, somethign whih matches well with the economic principles we were discussing last Sunday.

Hostile take-over, p. 66, shows the irony in the city of Richmond, where the The Tea Party is suing the city for a refund of  the $8,000.00 fee they paid for using the same grounds that Occupy protestors have used without charge for several weeks.  Are all U.S. agencies toothless tigers?c

Happy Thanksgiving!

I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders.  Psalm 9:1

Sources of compassion: what does the Bible say?

This past Sunday in WorldMovers we discussed the startling increase of Americans using food stamps in the past decade.  In searching for a Biblcal position on thissubject,w e reviewed the scriptures listed here: 

Leviticus 19:10   Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 15:11   For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.

Isaiah 58:7    Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

I Samuel 2:7    The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

Deuteronomy 8:18   But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

Exodus 20:17   Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Proverbs 1:14-16    Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

Matthew 13:11, 12    He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

A compelling question for us was, "What would a present day application of the gleaning principle look like?"  We definitely came away with a concern that we become more responsible, both as individuals and as a congregation, in our provisions for the poor.

Why we read original sources

In classical schools such as the one where I teach, we emphasize the reading of original historical sources wherever possible. There is no arguing that the teaching of history is often clouded by myth and hearsay. In our time, "political correctness" also obscures an accurate retelling of the events of our nation's past.

In regard to the observance of Thanksgiving, such myths have been perpetrated at both extremes of the continuum. The original settlers of New England were not always the heroes that American tradition often paints them to be, and the behavior of the native tribes was both more troublesome and also more benign than many of the stories we have traditionally heard.

For those of us who subscribe to Biblical theology, this should come as no big surprise. Both settlers and native inhabitants were plagued with an inherited sin nature. But both were also recipients of God's common grace, and as individuals, both had marks of God's imago dei, the image of God.

In our reading of Governor William Bradford's own journal of the Plymouth Plantation, my sixth graders and I have made these observations:

1.  The Puritan settlers of New England truly aspired to establish Christ's "city on a hill" in their New England colony, but their efforts were often undermined by human greed and foolishness. Their worship of God was sincere, but their attempts to be informed by God's Word were colored by the political climate and culture of the authoritarian and hierarchical culture in which they had been nurtured in seventeenth century England.

2.  Having come as part of a trading company agreement, they were remarkably unreflective about their displacement of the native populations already present in the land they settled. They blindly accepted their trade charter as somehow giving them the right to claim and settle a land that was already occupied by someone else. While some of them treated the native Americans with respect and reciprocity on an individual basis, as a whole they seem to have accepted the notion that these were suspect "heathens," whose presence they were privileged to ignore, in terms of legal rights.

3.  While some of the natives did treat the settlers generously and open-handedly, far more were brutish and individually cruel to the settlers, apparently motivated by both envy and fear. Although they have been painted as idealistically not believing in the possession of private property, it is clear from the historic accounts that the natives who plundered and stole from the settlers were aware that they were taking that which did not belong to them.

4.  The settlers were more preoccupied with competition with other European settlers than with their relationship to the natives. Much of Bradford's journal details conflicts between the Plymouth colony and later arrivals, often of a seemingly petty religious nature. Bradford was quick to identify someof the later leaders as "heathenish Christians," whose effort at colonization were marked by "disorder" and greed.          

5.  Despite many failures, the accounts in Bradford's journal record many times of humbing and repentance, as the colonists tried to make sense of the trials they were suffering on what they believed to be a commission from God. There is also evidence that, in spite of apparent racial prejudice toward the natives on the part of some settlers, the church leaders themselves were concerned about gratuitious violence toward the natives, and spoke out against it in no uncertain terms.

6.  One of the most enightening sections of the journal was Bradford's account of their abandonment of communalism. "The failure of this experiment of communal service, which was tried for several years, and by good and honest men, proves the emptiness of the theory of Plato and other ancients, applauded by some of later times - that the taking away of private property, and the possession of it by the community, by a commonwealth,would make a state happy and flourishing; as if they were wiser than God.  For in this instance, community of property (so far as it went) was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much employment which would have been to the general benefit and comfort."  Bradford goes on to detail all the ills that this approach inflicted on the welfare and general productivity of the colony. "Let none argue," Bradford concluded, "that this is due to human failing, rather than to the commnistic plan of life in itself. I answer, seeing that all men have this failing in this, that God in His wisdom saw that another plan of life was fitter for them."  We would do well to heed this lesson in our nation today!