Pleasing To God

1 Timothy 2:1-3

Paul starts with a "therefore" that goes back to the previous chapter where the real battle is not against rulers in the world but against false doctrines. And these doctrines being taught by teachers who "don't know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm." So even the false teachers are not the "enemy" it's the wrong teachings. Paul writes to Timothy with the purpose of uniting the church in love, correcting the false doctrines and urging the church to live in peace.

Today my prayer is for Barack Obama, that God might grant him wisdom to lead through these very difficult times. My prayer is that God will direct his steps away from foolish ideas and away from foolish advisors. I pray that he will be surrounded not only by men and women who uphold righteousness but also by the Holy Spirit. And I pray for our country to continue to be used by God as an agent of justice in the world. More than that, I pray that we will see a new day of peace soon.

Lord may President Obama be tough when the situation calls for it. May he be decisive when necessary. And make him humble and merciful when it is possible.

Cynicism or Realism?

I had the marvelous opportunity of spending time with one of my mentors and friends today for lunch. Ed Chinn (www.edchinn.com) called me this morning to say he was in town.

Ed is one of those people who speaks perspective into my life like few others. He laughs in the face of world events, not because he doesn't care about them but because God laughs and he has God's perspective. And he seems to have a faith that implicitly knows God is in control whereas mine seems to be captive to the whims of circumstance.

Ed isn't a cynic but one of the things he said today had to do with the reality that institutions that rise up to battle injustice will always end up depending on the continuation of the very injustice they fight. For example, the American Cancer Society depends on the fact that cancer continues to be pervasive. Should cancer be defeated, the ACS would cease to have a purpose.

Now, that's not to say that fighting cancer is not a noble cause or that anyone in dark smoke filled rooms at ACS headquarters is secretly funding the disease, but expand this to other realms and you find a troubling truism.

I'll start with one of my own causes. The fight against abortion. I believe babies have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness guaranteed under our constitution. More than that, I believe that babies are made in the image of God and as such ought not to be killed for the pleasure of a more comfortable life for a mother or father. I understand that there are (few and far between) times when the life of a mother may be at stake and diffitult choices need to be made. Still, the comfort of a young mother or her parents seem to result in far too many babies being killed in this nation. And our recently elected president calls babies a "punishment". Just so we're clear, I'm against abortion.

But Ed made a brilliant point when he called out the fact that so many Christians consider voting for a Democrat to be anathema because of this one issue. The fact is that since Roe V. Wade was decided we've had 25 years of Republican presidents who have done little or nothing about this issue. So, why do we consider Republicans to hold any kind of moral superiority on this? As Ed said "The dirtly little secret is that Republicans need the abortion issue to solidify the base voters." That means that if abortion went away, what issue would Republicans easily be able to use?

On the Democrat side, Democrats need the poor to continue being poor. For over 40 years the Dems have been fighting the "war on poverty" and it frankly isn't being won. When there are poor neighborhoods, it's easy for a politician to go there and stir up the base with promises.

In the same way the Rainbow/Push coalition needs racism to continue in America. The NRA needs anti-gun legislators. Labor unions need "stingy" bosses. Fundamentalists need immorality.

I have yet to hear of a charter for an organization that includes a clause giving the conditions whereby that organization will no longer be necessary.

When this little piece of realism hits home I begin to see how organizations may rise up to fight a good fight against an immoral or unjust foe, but be a little careful. Don't get swallowed up and taken in as the power brokers will do what needs to be done to maintain their power.

Ministry Again?

In my time with God this morning I thought it appropriate to spend time in Galatians since this is "Reformation Sunday".

No longer under the supervision of the law. Gal 3:25

I’m relating this to the supervision of a parent. Growing up in my house I knew that my parents would always provide what I needed. That’s what parents are supposed to do. I was under their supervision and they had to take care of me. Today I am on my own. Not that my parents aren’t available for advice or input, but they don’t live here. I’m the parent now.

There’s a comfort to the law like that of my parents provision for me. It’s safe. It’s predictable. Though I may not have had the freedom I have now I had the security of their covering. Without the law what will rein in my fleshy desires? Without the fear of punishment what prevents me from running wild?

But this morning as I read Galatians again I see that to operate under the law is to bastardize the purpose of the law. The law is supposed to lead me to Christ where I am then justified by faith. So why do I prefer the security of the law to the freedom of Christ? Why do I find myself wishing that God would just tell me what to do?

Currently I feel that God wants me to move off of the balcony and back into some kind of service. We help with IHN at our church and last night we helped a friend lead worship at his church. These are rewarding opportunities. Yet I can’t help but feel that God is calling me to something more. I don’t know what it might be and so far as I pray for God to tell me his answer seems to be “what do you want to do?”

And my response is still “I’m not sure”. I know that I don’t want several nights of the week taken up with meetings.

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Maybe it’s not as difficult as I make it. Maybe what we are doing right now is exactly what we are supposed to do. Perhaps the Spirit doesn’t reveal tomorrow’s plans until tomorrow.

Ministry? (Dave)

Well, it's been three years since we've been in "formal" ministry. We took a year off from church completely and have been attending Holy Cross Lutheran for the past two years. Recently Jen and I have both been feeling like it's time to do more than sit in the balcony.

A friend of mine leads worship for another church and has asked us to help him out tomorrow. We're looking forward to it. Secretly I'm glad it's for a different church because it takes the pressure of diving into some kind of committment away. We can help and we don't have to feel obligated to something week after week. Plus, nobody from our church will know that we've volunteered so we won't have to wrestle with that either.

This feels somewhat selfish to me but frankly I don't care right now.

From Ed Chinn

I received this email from Ed Chinn today, Ed is one of my mentors whose insights have been used mightily by God in my life.

Friends, here is a story which cuts right to the core of life.

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=37761

Many of you know the story of Gene Stallings, football coach (now retired and farming). But, this is a story which you may not know (I certainly didn't): his son, Johnny, who was afflicted with Down Syndrome.

This story raises a very real and (I think) intriguing issue: What has our obsession with rights and choice done to the quality of our life? By designing our own lives, have we sealed ourselves off from higher elevations of life which God designs? Is it possible that God uses adversity or heartbreak as portals to far more interesting and rewarding living? Have we settled for a monochrome life when God creates life in the full kaleidoscopic radiance of His color palette?
NOTE to you my editors and publishing friends...any of you interested in something on this theme (and perhaps this story...I'd love to go interview him)?

I thank Zan Kriegel for passing this on to me.

Ed Chinn
www.edchinn.com

Jags Won

I forgot to mention in my last entry that the Jaguars came and showed the Broncs what's up on Sunday. This was a big win for them since they even their record at 3-3 and have a bye this week and the rest of their schedule is not as difficult as the first 6 games. Already they've played 4 division leaders. They aren't out of the woods but I certainly like their chances after last week's showing.

My Sweet Kid!

My daughter Noelle is so kind and caring. We had a date night this week and her sister Megan was feeling a little left out. (Of course Megan just got to go to the Jaguars/Broncos game with me so there really was no call for that.) On the way to get ice cream at Josh and John's Noelle was debating where to go for fun and games. She really wanted to go to "Itz" but debated it because, "Megan really likes Itz so we should wait to go there until she can go too."

I told her that this was her night and she should go where she wanted. Without too much wait she decided that Itz was the place.

We had a great time talking and coloring at Josh and John's and then went over to Itz (a pizza and games place). She led me all around the place since she had been there before at a friend's birthday party. Her favorite part was riding the race cars. They slowly move down a straightaway and then whip around the corner like lightning. I have to admit it was fun. But mostly it was fun watching the smile on her face and hearing the screams of delight.

We went from game to game winning tickets for about an hour and then went to the "store" to trade them for toys. Noelle spent some time choosing something and then even more time trying to decide what to get for her sisters. She only had enough tickets for some of the smaller toys but she was thinking about others just the same. I helped her with the math and she was finally satisfied that she had chosen just the right toys and colors for Megan and Riesa.

When we got home she excitedly showed her mom all that she got and told her about our night. What a wonderful week I had.

You know, business wasn't great this week but I got to spend 6 or so hours with Megan going to the Jags game on Sunday and then a few hours with Noelle too. How can anyone complain about that?

Got Tickets?

I do! Going to see the Jags beat up on the Burros on October 10th! I can't wait.

Jaguars 20 - Patriots 31

The Total Package
That's what you need to win it all, either that or a whole truckload of luck. There were two upsets this weekend as the Colts and Cowboys lost. I had hoped for it but the Patriots simply have a team that isn't going to lose, you have to beat them. A fumble early on, an interception late and a couple crucial dropped passes by Jags receivers made the difference. On the other side, Brady was almost perfect. I expect the Pack and the Patriots to win next week and move on to the Super Bowl. At this point I have to root for the opportunity to watch an historical run. It pains me to say it at some level but I'd like to see the Pats go all the way... 19-0.

Jags have an excellent future - running game, QB, defense, pass protection. We just need some speedy receivers. I hope we can pick up a couple, that would give us the total package that we need.

As a side note, it definitely helps to win your division and get that first week bye.

Jaguars 31 - Steelers 29

What a game. It was enjoyable and relaxing in the second and third quarters but then the Steelers scored 19 points in the 4th to come back and take the lead by 1 point. Garrard won the game for them with a 4th and 2 play. Run up the middle for first down and more to put them in field goal range.

Next week it's either Pats or Colts. They better be ready! My friend in Dallas has a sports blog where he shows his picks every week and tracks them along with the major sports writers. He's always right up there with the best of them. But... here's Eddie Chinn's prediction about this game:

Jacksonville Jaguars (11-5) at Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6): NBC, 8:00pm EST, Saturday - In regards to RB sensation Willie Parker being out for the year with a broken leg, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, "Whoever hoists that Lombardi Trophy in a month or so will have had injury issues and will have found ways to overcome it. We don't dwell on that. It's as much a part of the game as blocking and tackling. The healthy guys play and the standard of expectation doesn't change." Expectations will be sky high tomorrow night as Pittsburgh will look to exact revenge on J-town who throttled Pittsburgh 29-22 in Week 15. Jacksonville is hitting on all cylinders going in to Heinz Field, which shouldn't be in its "pending lawsuit" state, but the Steelers should be more than ready for them. Plus, history is on their side. Jacksonville has not won a playoff road game in eleven years, and no team has ever beaten Pittsburgh on its home turf twice in the same season in the 75-year history of the Black and Gold. EDDIE'S PICK - PITTSBURGH

I put his comments in teal just to make a point. Revenge was not forthcoming even though the Steelers were poised to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the final minutes of the game. As far as history being "on their side", Pittsburgh can't rely on 75 years of history to defend their record, they have to go out every year and beat teams to keep that streak going. And this Jaguars team is not the team they have been for their entire history. It could be that this is the best and most complete team the Jaguars have ever fielded. If they can pick up a couple or three great receivers before next year they will be a dangerous team. They'll need to be at their best next week and have some luck on their side.