Twice the Sons and Daughters of Hell, Selling Our Souls & Being Right

"Everything they do is for people to see....Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are." Matthew 23 4b-5, 15

I have heard people in Christian institutions and in a church say, "But if we do that, what will it look like?" I couldn't believe my ears. Perhaps without knowing it, they cared more about keeping up appearances than doing what was right. Being righteous by doing what is right can be costly; it can cost you friends, institutional or corperate money, maybe even a job/reputation. No doubt it can be hard decision should  you stare unemployment in the face, but at least you'll have your soul!

Nevertheless some in the church sell their souls in order to maintain their positions of power and good graces with funders or others. May it never be said about you and me. I was talking to a family friend. He said, "I don't know if I'd want to be in those positions of power. Who knows what I'd do." That's true. Power is able to corrupt, but God can keep power from corrupting us if we are committed to following Jesus in deed and in word and have wise counselors around us.

These same people who seem to be concerned about keeping up appearances perhaps only coincidentally are the some of the same ones who are hell-bent on being right. Meaning, if you don't hold what they hold to, every single jot and tittle, well then you are not on the straight and narrow--you are what's wrong with the world and with Christianity. They cannot fathom the possibility of being wrong.

It is wise for you and me to remember and to remind ourselves that we do hold some wrong beliefs. What those are might be difficult to identify because if we knew what they were, we wouldn't hold them. But we are fools if decieve ourselves into thinking that the way we view the world and even God corresponds perfectly to reality, to what actually is. There's an arrogance that comes from thinking we have all the answers. Not that there aren't some answers (we can't know everything of course). We start to see even other believers as less than--start making it about our way or the highway. We start training others in arrogance and in wrong ways of being and then make them twice the sons and daugthers of hell.

Those are strong words Jesus had for the Pharisees who "knew" their Bibles. Again, let's not kid ourselves, we could become just like them. The temptation is to make people and God into our own image.

So two things. Let's care more about righteousness and justice instead of keeping up appearances (and money) in our Christian institutions, organizations, and churches. Secondly, let's be careful about how we view and treat those who think differenlty than we do about matters of faith and practice (I am not talking about the central tenants of Christianity, but even if we run across those who clearly are acting as anti-Christs, Jesus tells us to love our enemies). We are to love our brothers and sisters, not lord it over them and not assert ourselves. Jesus tells us that the greatest among us will be servants and that those who exalt themselves will be humbled. Let us humble ourselves before the Lord so that in due time, he'll lift us up.

Matthew 23: 2-8,

“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries^[a] wide and the tassels on their garments long; ⁶ they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; ⁷ they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. ¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. ¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. ^{[14] [b] 15} “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are."

God Remembers: (Good Sunday Meditations)

This is by the Rev. Bob Arbogast at Olentangy Christian Reformed Church:
(For some reason the formatting is being grievous! I apologize and have tried to fix it as much as I can.)

I have a bad memory. I’ve admitted that I don’t know how many times. Or if not a

bad memory, then a strange memory. I can remember a license plate number from the

mid-1970s: P64 519. But I can’t remember a speech I gave at high school graduation. I

can remember a phone number from Grand Rapids in the mid-1980s: 454-8830. But I

can’t remember most of my seminary classmates. I see them at synod sometimes, and I

don’t know who they are. I can remember the priest turning on a cheap Sony cassette

player at my father’s funeral in 1997. But I can’t remember standing by my father’s

open grave.

There are lots of times I wish I had a better memory. But I don’t think there’s much

of anything I can do about it. When I go to Kroger, I make a list. That doesn’t help my

memory. It just compensates for it. When Jan gets off the phone after talking with Katie,

she can give me a detailed account of the conversation. When I get off the phone after

talking with Kristi, I can only give Jan a general outline of what we talked about. I feel

like a failure, like a bad person. I don’t like this forgetting. But I wonder if that’s even the right

word. Am I forgetting something if I haven’t remembered it at least for a little while to begin

with?

NONE OF US LIKE FORGETTING. That’s one of the things that worries us about

Alzheimer’s. If we get Alzheimer’s, we’re going to forget who we are and we’re going

to forget the people we love. And we know that if we forget those things, then there

won’t be much of us left. Not enough of what matters. That’s what scares us. We’ve

seen people, people we love, hollowed out by Alzheimer’s. We don’t want to go there.

None of us do.

But here’s what I think. Worse than forgetting is being forgotten. None of us wants

to be forgotten. Not unless we’re in the witness protection program. And even then we

don’t really want it. It’s a hard thing to be forgotten, to be lost to all you’ve known and

loved. But in that kind of situation, there’s no choice.To be forgotten by the woman you

pledged your life to twelve years ago, forgotten when she runs off with another man? That

hurts. To be forgotten by your son, the son you made so many sacrifices for, and now he

won’t even pick up his iPhone to give you a call? That hurts.

We watched the movie Precious the other night. Precious Jones is forgotten. Her

mother and father have forgotten she’s their child, their flesh and blood. They treat her

like a pest or a toy. When she finds out she’s HIV-positive, courtesy of her father,

Precious writes in her journal, Why me? At that moment, with a story like hers, Precious

feels forgotten by the universe. And who wouldn’t? The filmmakers don’t address the

obvious next question. But has God forgotten her? Has God forgotten?

THAT’S THE QUESTION THAT HANGS OVER this world every day. When a fifteen year

old girl is sexually assaulted by her father while her mother looks the other way, has

God forgotten? When people rising up to protest an oppressive government are

bombed and burned into submission, has God forgotten? When Haiti, the poorest

country in the western hemisphere, is devastated by an earthquake and a hurricane, has God

forgotten? When a traveler responds to the call of the Gospel to take risks to be servant and

winds up being assaulted by the hitchhiker he picked up, has God forgotten? When

Palestinian Christians are caught in the middle between Muslims and Israelis and the

whole world has forgotten their plight, has God forgotten too? When the Christian

community in Iraq and in Egypt and in Nigeria is under constant threat, has God

forgotten?

That’s the question, the aching, agonizing question, that hangs over this world every

day. And that was the question hanging over the world in the first century, hanging

over Judea and Samaria and Galilee. When Jews have returned from Babylon, when

they’ve rebuilt Jerusalem and the Temple, but they have no king and the divine

presence is missing, has God forgotten? Has God forgotten? That’s the question, then

and now. Has God forgotten?

ONE OF THE BIBLE’S BIG CONCERNS, ALL THE WAY THROUGH, is to show that God

remembers. Take the rainbow. We know that the rainbow is a covenant sign. It’s

connected with a promise God makes, a promise God makes to every living creature on

the earth, a promise that the waters of chaos won’t win. We know that the rainbow is a

sign of that promise. And we usually think that the rainbow is a sign so we can

remember the promise. But the rainbow is not so we can remember; it’s so God can

remember. God says, I will see the bow and I will remember. I will remember my promise. I

don’t know for sure, but I imagine there’s always a rainbow somewhere in this world. That

means God remembers. Always God remembers.

When the family of Israel is enslaved in Egypt, God remembers his promise to

Abraham and sets Israel free. Later, when Israel is beset by enemies, God remembers his

promise to David and turns the enemies aside. God remembers. That’s a foundation

stone of biblical faith.

When the psalmist prays to the LORD, it’s a prayer about remembering. LORD, don’t

remember the mess I am and the mess I’ve made. LORD, instead of remembering who I

am,remember who you are. Remember compassion. Remember faithfulness. Remember love. And

that’s what God does. God remembers. Always God remembers.

OUR COVENANT SIGN IS BAPTISM. It’s a sign we can hardly see when it’s on us. It’s not

like the ashes of Ash Wednesday that even when they’re removed leave a smudge. No,

with baptism in no time our skin is dry and the sign is invisible. But not to God. God

sees. And God remembers. God remembers the promises. I am your God. You are my

people. God remembers.

I told you I remember strange things. But it’s not so strange, not really. You see, I

have a habit of rehearsing those strange things. I’ve been telling people for years about

that old license plate number. Every time I tell someone, the number gets fixed more

firmly in my memory. I imagine that’s how it is with God and our baptism. God sees the

sign, the invisible sign, of our baptism and God remembers. Again and again God sees.

Again and again God remembers. God remembers and there is no forgetting.

GOD REMEMBERS. THAT’S THE BEGINNING of the Gospel. As Mark tells the story, Jesus

begins his work by saying, The time is fulfilled. In other words, There has been no forgetting.

This is where the story has been leading. It’s time, time at last, time for the kingdom! Jesus comes

as the embodiment of God’s memory. God has not forgotten the promises. God is as good as

his word. God remembers a world in torment. God remembers a world fractured by abuse

and injustice, by disease and despair. God remembers and sends his Son to save the world

from slavery to fear and death. He does it by facing the fear. He does it by dying a

horrible death. He does it by remembering. Jesus, his companion on the next cross said

to him, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus told him, Today

you will be with me in paradise. In other words, I will remember. I will remember you. You will

suffer. You will die. But you will not be forgotten. I will remember you. That’s the heart of the

Gospel.

Certainly we’re longing for and waiting for a world in which girls aren’t abused and

kind travelers aren’t assaulted. We have our eyes set on a world where peace and justice

reign and tyrants have been sent packing. And while we wait, we look to Jesus, to his cross,

to his suffering, to what he was not spared. We look to our own calling to suffer with him. And

we know that God remembers. God remembers. Always God remembers. I may forget a lot

of things. There may be a lot of things that never once take root in my memory. But God

remembers. Always God remembers. And that will be so even if I forget.

✠

In the name of the Father

and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

✠

Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkani To Be Executed & Slaughter in Syria

Please let's pray fervently for our brother, Youcef Nadarkani and ask God to intervene on his behalf and on behalf of Iranian Christians. He has been re-sentenced to death for leaving Islam and can be executed at any time. Scripture tells us to remember those who are in prison as if we ourselves were in prison.

O God our Father maker of heaven and earth, the one who holds all things in your hands, we ask that in the name of Jesus, you intervene on behalf of Pastor Nadakhani, his family, and the Iranian people. Save his life. Thank you for his faithfulness to you. He is an example to us. We can't imagine his suffering or the suffering of his family, but we pray that you'd give them peace and your church peace. May good overcome evil and may the Iranian church flourish. Jesus we ask this in your high and holy name. Amen.

If you haven't heard about him, you can find out more information here on CNN:

Pastor Nadarkhani

As Christians we cannot remain silent or prayer-inactive about what is happening in Syria. The Syrian government is slaughtering innocent people--mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, babies and grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins. We need to cry out on their behalf too!

O Father, we feel helpless to do anything for the Syrian people. We have no worldly power. We cannot move the hearts of rulers. But you can. Jesus you are King of kings and Lord of lords. King Solomon says that the hearts of kings are like channels of water in your hands. Father, we pray that you'd intervene on behalf of the Syrian people. Their blood cries out from the land just as Abel's blood cried out when Cain slaughtered him. Father, there is much evil in the world, violence in the hearts of humankind. The insatiable desire for power and control leads to great evil. Jesus! May your kingdom come in Syria. May you move on behalf of the innocents. You alone can bring peace in the midst of human hate and evil. Jesus you are our only hope. We have and they have nothing without you. We ask this in your name. Amen.

See story from CNN here:
Why Isn't the World Intervening in Syria?

Who's The Greatest Christian?

These are thoughts from Pastor Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle in NY, NY (USA) as quoted in A Guide To Prayer For All Who Seek God (Upper Room Books)

He says: When I was growing up, I thought the greatest Christian must be the person who walks around with shoulders thrown back because of tremendous inner strength and power, quoting Scripture and letting everyone know he has arrived. I have since learned that the most mature believer is the one who is bent over, leaning most heavily on the Lord, and admitting his total inability to do anything without Christ. The greatest Christian is not the one who has achieved the most but the one who has received the most. God's grace, love, and mercy flow through him (or her) abundantly because he walks in total dependence.

~from Fresh Faith

Blessed are those of you who are able to receive the love of God, who understand that you are completely dependent on him and that without him you can do nothing. Yours is the kingdom of Heaven.

What does it mean to follow Jesus in life and death? Ed Dobson's "My Story"

In 1996, I was a freshman in college. Every year our school had an annual Bible conference that coincided with the start of school. In fact, we were required to attend the few nights prior to the start of class. The first speaker I ever heard was Ed Dobson. Ed Dobson, not to be confused with James Dobson, was pastor of Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan (USA). It is 2012 and I still remember the gist of his sermons. One of the things he said was that he noticed that pastors/churches feed people on the front pews--pass out bread over and over to people on the front pews. But then he asked (maybe not word for word but here's the basic idea), "What about the people in the back?" The people in the back are saying, "Hey, pay attention to me! I'm hungry. The people in the back are the tax collectors and sinners. Then he asked, "Who are the tax collectors and sinners of our day?" His sermon was much more powerful than I am now conveying. It stayed with me.

A few years after that I sermon, I found out that he had been diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. This disease attacks your body and shuts down organs. I was so concerned when I found out that I called his church to ask how he was doing even though I had never talked to him. I called because the little exposure I had to Ed Dobson branded Jesus deeper into my soul. I found out later that he'd stepped down because of the sickness that would eventually lead to death.

In this video Ed Dobson talks about life and death and what it means to follow Jesus. At one point in the video he says that he preached and did all sorts of things in the church but he wasn't really following Jesus (not that he wasn't a Christian). He was busy for Jesus...but not really following him.  After he stepped down because of the disease he lost his purpose for living...but slowly regained it. And at this point, today, he knows he is facing death and about to lose his ability to talk because of ALS. If you want to be nourished and motivated to follow Jesus, if you want encouragment in your walk and to see the beauty of God, watch this story about Ed Dobson:

Ed Dobson's "My Story" on CNN

God in the Dark Moments of our Lives

Here is a good and encouraging sermon from Charles Stanley. Well worth the listen:

The Dark Moments in Our Life

Messin' Other People Up in our Messedupness

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21

Here's the deal: in our messedupness we are fully capable of permanently messing up countless others. They in turn mess up countless others. That's why we must beg God for for mercy, we must humble ourselves and confess who we are to God and others if necessary, seeking forgivness and transformation. And we must also take steps to work out our salvation with fear and trembling so that others don't encounter evil and destruction when they encounter us.

The snare comes when we are so self-absorbed in our pain that we don't give a rip about the sort of effects our attitudes and behaviors have on others. Our pain dehumanizes us by desensitizing us to the pain of others. We are convinced that we are right and have a right to do what we're doing.

So we open Pandora's box--unleashing profound evil in the life of others. It starts with those closest to us and radiates out. Evil spreads like an aggressive cancer.

Yet let us not forget that life proliferates, too. We are to overcome evil with good.

Therefore it is of utmost importance that we understand that our sins--vices--bad habits of our temperament and blind spots can decidely and sinisterly affect the world in the same way that Adam and Eve's did.

Let us beg God to cleanse us and help us be proliferators of good.

Because like germs, we often spread evil unaware.