Blog Archives - IRONSTRIKES

A means to an end

3/31/2017

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” – Luke 15: 31-32

In the Gospel of Luke, we see a beautiful story of love, persistent prayer, and restoration. If you look in your favorite version of scripture, the story may be called something different, but in mine it is called the “Prodigal Son”. Many of us know the general layout of this short narrative. A man asks his father for His inheritance early (before the father’s death) and squanders the full sum on worldly pleasures. Then, we see the greatest part of the story. The son comes back home, thinking he will be ostracized, but instead is embraced and restored back to the family.

This plot gives us all “warm fuzzies”, doesn’t it? We then often relate this passage to the concept that Jesus will accept and restore us to His spiritual family no matter how far we have fallen away from Him. This is absolutely true, but I wonder if there is more that we are not seeing at first glance.

This boy, who asked his father for his share of the wealth, was essentially telling his father that he could do life without him. He desired the promised blessing over the relationship. Being a part of the family gave him a right to eventually have the wealth, but this young man looked at his family status as a means to an end. In this context, that glorious end for him was worldly pleasures.

How do you look at your spiritual life? When I say “spiritual life”, I mean the life you live now that Christ is in you. The markers of this type of life are prayer, giving, serving, scripture reading, hospitality, and corporate worship (among others). First, is this life separate from the life you lead in other contexts? Do you live one way in public and another way in private? Next, do you look at these spiritual activities as a means to an end? Are you only in it for the blessings?

It can be tempting to seek closeness with God mostly because He is the giver of blessings. What we realize is, the genuinely closer to God we become, the more we find that closeness IS the blessing!

Don’t look at Jesus as a means to an end (Heaven, blessings, etc). Seek Him because of who He is, and because He is our Father. He is the life giver!

Prayer for today: Father, please forgive me for the times I have taken your love for granted. Help me to become closer to you. Not for my gain, but for your glory! Amen.

This post was written by Rev DeCrastos. You can find his blog here: ministrysauce.com

J.R.R. Tolkien on soul-mates and marriage

3/30/2017

"The essence of a fallen world is that the best cannot be attained by free enjoyment, or by what is called 'self-realization' (usually a nice name for self-indulgence, wholly inimical to the realization of other selves); but by denial, by suffering. Faithfulness in Christian marriage entails that: great mortification...No man, however truly he loved his betrothed and bride as a young man, has lived faithful to her as a wife in mind and body without deliberate conscious exercise of the will, without self-denial. Too few are told that - even those brought up 'in the Church'. Those outside seem seldom to have heard it. When the glamour wears off, or merely works a bit thin, they think they have made a mistake, and that the real soul-mate is still to find. The real soul-mate too often proves to be the next sexually attractive person that comes along. Someone whom they might indeed have very profitably have married, if only -- . Hence divorce, to provide the 'if only'. And of course they are as a rule quite right: they did make a mistake. Only a very wise ma at the end of his life could make a sound judgement concerning whom, amongst the total possible chances, he ought most profitably to have married! Nearly all marriages, even happy ones, are mistakes: in the sense that almost certainly (in a more perfect world, or even with a little more care in this very imperfect one) both partners might have found more suitable mates. But the 'real soul-mate' is the one you are actually married to. You really do very little choosing: life and circumstances do most of it (though if there is a God these must be His instruments, or His appearances)...Only the rarest good fortune brings together the man and woman who are really as it were 'destined' for one another, and capable of a very great and splendid love. The idea still dazzles us, catches us by the throat: poems and stories in multitudes have been written on the theme, more, probably, than the total of such loves in real life (yet the greatest of these tales do not tell of the happy marriage of such great lovers, but of their tragic separation; as if even in this sphere the truly great and splendid in this fallen world is more nearly achieved by 'failure' and suffering). In such great inevitable love, often love at first sight, we catch a vision, I suppose, of marriage as it should have been in an unfallen world. In this fallen world we have as our only guides, prudence, wisdom (rare in youth, too late in age), a clean heart, and fidelity of will..."

Tolkien, The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, ed. Humphrey Carpenter (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981), 51-52

J.R.R. Tolkien on romance and chivalry

3/29/2017

"The centre [of romantic chivalry] was not God, but imaginary Deities, Love and the Lady. It still tends to make the Lady a kind of guiding star or divinity - of the old-fashioned 'his divinity' = the woman he loves - the object or reason of noble conduct. This is, of course, false and at best make-believe. The woman is another fallen human-being with a soul in peril. But combined and harmonized with religion...it can be very noble. Then it produces what I suppose is still felt, among those who retain even vestigiary Christianity, to be the highest ideal of love between man and woman. Yet I still think it has dangers. It is not wholly true, and it is not perfectly 'theocentric.' It takes, or at any rate has in the past taken, the young man's eye off women as they are, as companions in shipwreck not guiding stars. (One result is for observation of the actual to make the young man turn cynical.) To forget their desires, needs and temptations. It inculcates exaggerated notions of 'true love', as a fire from without, a permanent exaltation, unrelated to age, childbearing, and plain life, and unrelated to will and purpose. (One result of that is to make young folk look for a 'love' that will keep them always nice and warm in a cold world, without any effort of theirs; and the incurably romantic go on looking even in the squalor of the divorce courts.)"

Tolkien, The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, ed. Humphrey Carpenter (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981), 48-49.

The 15-second kiss

3/28/2017

A few weeks back, I met a gentleman at church named Tim. Tim and his wife had been married many years (I can’t remember exactly, but it was at least 30) and weathered many trials through their marriage (cancer included).

Naturally I asked him what the secret was – as I usually do when I meet someone with an epic marriage. “How have they stuck together through everything?”

He simply replied, “The 15 second kiss.”

Intrigued, I asked, “What do you mean?“… though I suppose I could have figured itout.

He responded, “Every day, my wife and I always give each other a 15 second kiss. It’s long enough that you can’t fake it – it forces us to connect.”

I had never heard of purposefully timing a kiss. It was a novel idea I was anxious to try!

Now, my wife Selena and I kiss plenty—but we realized that we don’t often kiss for more than a few seconds. I’m not exactly sure why, but I do know it wasn’t like that when we were dating. (We made out way too much and for too long when we were dating…)After my “sales pitch”, Selena and I agreed to try a few days with the “15 second kiss” rule. Here’s what we learned (or were reminded of )…

1. 15 SECONDS ISN’T THAT LONG… EXCEPT WHEN YOU’RE KISSING.

We burn 15 seconds all the time without thinking about it. We sit on our phones, daydream, work around the house, you name it – 15 seconds is a short amount of time for most tasks. However, when you’re kissing and consciously timing it, 15 second seems to be longer. And that’s a good thing!

At first we were both aware of the time because of the novelty of the exercise. It didn’t take long for us to simply get lost in the kiss. If other couples are like us, we get too busy to “get lost” doing anything. The 15 second kiss was a refreshing reminder that we can truly get lost in our affection for one another.

2. IT’S NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO KISS FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME AND NOT FEEL CLOSER.

Kissing is intimate. We found that as we “got lost” in the kiss, we were getting lost together. And when we were lost together we truly found each other. (Oh, that sounds poetic…) Kissing makes us feel closer; and since we always want to feel closer it makes sense to make purposed kissing a daily part of our lives.

3. IT REFOCUSED US ON “WHO” WE ARE TO EACH OTHER.

My wife is my best friend. When you’re “kissably-close” to your spouse, smelling their breath, feeling their skin, you remember who they are as a person. It’s easy to begin seeing your spouse as a roommate or casual partner, but kissing reminds us of the distinctly human qualities (good and bad) that we fell in love with in the first place. Kissing forces us to drown out distractions around us. We had to consciously tune everything else out and focus solely on each other – something we can all agree we need more of.

4. KISSING IS A GATEWAY DRUG.

Kissing contributes to overall friskiness. We are both… ahem… more “intimacy minded” after the 15 second kisses than we are before.

5. KISSING REFRESHES AND ENERGIZES US.

Perhaps it’s just the friskiness, or maybe something else, but kissing is like an adrenaline shot. We both feel excited and energized after a 15 second kiss.

Try for yourselves!

Whether you and your spouse are constant kissers or even if you’ve forgotten what a french kiss is, I highly recommend giving this exercise a shot. Feel free to go longer than 15 seconds, but certainly don’t go shorter – at least not until you try it a few times.

I’m confident it will have a positive impact on your relationship with your spouse.

This post was written by Ryan Frederick. You can find it in the free e-book, 25 Marriage Hacks. For the free e-book, go to: http://books.noisetrade.com/tylerward/marriage-hacks

Marriage and the Modern Mind

3/27/2017

I Have been requested to write something about Marriage and the Modern Mind. It would perhaps be more appropriate to write about Marriage and the Modern Absence of Mind. In much of their current conduct, those who call themselves ‘modern’ seem to have abandoned the use of reason; they have sunk back into their own subconsciousness, perhaps under the influence of the psychology now most fashionable in the drawing-room; and it is an understatement to say that they act more automatically than the animals. Wives and husbands seem to leave home more in the manner of somnambulists.

If anybody thinks I exaggerate the mindlessness of modern comment on this matter, I am content to refer him to the inscription under a large photograph of a languishing lady, in the newspaper now before me. It states that the lady has covered herself with glory as the inventor of ‘Companionate Divorce.’ It goes on to state, in her own words, that she will marry her husband again if he asks her again; and that she has been living with him ever since she was divorced from him. If mortal muddle-headedness can go deeper than that, in this vale of tears, I should like to see it. The newspaper picture and paragraph I can actually see; and stupidity so stupendous as that has never been known in human history before. The first thing to say about marriage and the modern mind, therefore, is that it is natural enough that people with no mind should want to have no marriage.

But there is another simple yet curious illustration of modern stupidity in the matter. And that is that, while I have known thousands of people arguing about marriage, sometimes furiously against it, sometimes rather feebly in favour of it, I have never known any one of the disputants begin by asking what marriage is. They nibble at it with negative criticism; they chip pieces off it and exhibit them as specimens, called ‘hard cases’; they treat every example of the rule as an exception to the rule; but they never look at the rule. They never ask, even in the name of history or human curiosity, what the thing is, or why it is, or why the overwhelming mass of mankind believes that it must be. Let us begin with the alphabet, as one does with infants.

Marriage, humanly considered, rests upon a fact of human nature, which we may call a fact of natural history. All the higher animals require much longer parental protection than do the lower; the baby elephant is a baby much longer than the baby jellyfish. But even beyond this natural tutelage, man needs something quite unique in nature. Man alone needs education. I know that animals train their young in particular tricks; as cats teach kittens to catch mice. But this is a very limited and rudimentary education. It is what the hustling millionaires call Business Education; that is, it is not education at all. Even at that, I doubt whether any pupil presenting himself for Matriculation or entrance into Standard VI, would now be accepted if flaunting the stubborn boast of a capacity to catch mice. Education is a complex and many-sided culture to meet a complex and many-sided world; and the animals, especially the lower animals, do not require it. It is said that the herring lays thousands of eggs in a day. But, though evidently untouched by the stunt of Birth-Control, in other ways the herring is highly modern. The mother herring has no need to remember her own children, and certainly therefore, no need to remember her own mate. But then the duties of a young herring, just entering upon life, are very simple and largely instinctive; they come, like a modern religion, from within. A herring does not have to be taught to take a bath; for he never takes anything else. He does not have to be trained to take off a hat to a lady herring, for he never puts on a hat, or any other Puritanical disguise to hamper the Greek grace of his movements. Consequently his father and mother have no common task or responsibility; and they can safely model their union upon the boldest and most advanced of the new novels and plays. Doubtless the female herring does say to the male herring, “True marriage must be free from the dogmas of priests; it must be a thing of one exquisite moment.” Doubtless the male herring does say to the female herring, “When Love has died in the heart, Marriage is a mockery in the home.”

This philosophy, common among the lower forms of life, is obviously of no use among the higher. This way of talking, however suitable for herrings, or even for rats and rabbits, who are said to be so prolific, does not meet the case of the creature endowed with reason. The young of the human species, if they are to reach the hill possibilities of the human culture, so various, so laborious, so elaborate, must be under the protection of responsible persons through very long periods of mental and moral growth. I know there are some who grow merely impatient and irrational at this point; and say they could do just as well without education. But they lie; for they could not even express that opinion, if they had not laboriously learnt one particular language in which to talk nonsense. The moment we have realised this, we understand why the relations of the sexes normally remain static; and in most cases, permanent. For though, taking this argument alone, there would be a case for the father and mother parting when the children were mature, the number of people who at the age of fifty really wish to bolt with the typist or be abducted by the chauffeur is less than is now frequently supposed.

Well, even if the family held together as long as that, it would be better than nothing; but in fact even such belated divorce is based on bad psychology. All the modern licence is based on bad psychology; because it is based on the latest psychology. And that is like knowing the last proposition in Euclid without knowing the first. It is the first elements of psychology that the people called ‘modern’ do not know. One of the things they cannot comprehend is the thing called ‘atmosphere’; as they show by shrieking with derision when anybody demands ‘a religious atmosphere’ in the schools. The atmosphere of something safe and settled can only exist where people see it in the future as well as in the past.

Children know exactly what is meant by having really come home; and the happier of them keep something of the feeling as they grow up. But they cannot keep the feeling for ten minutes, if there is an assumption that Papa is only waiting for Tommy’s twenty-first birthday to carry the typist off to Trouville; or that the chauffeur actually has the car at the door, that Mrs. Brown may go off the moment Miss Brown has ‘come out.’

That is, in practical experience, the basic idea of marriage; that the founding of a family must be on a firm foundation; that the rearing of the immature must be protected by something patient and enduring. It is the common conclusion of all mankind; and all common sense is on its side. A small minority of what may be called the idle Intelligentsia have, just recently and in our corner of the world, criticised this idea of Marriage in the name of what they call the Modern Mind. The first obvious or apparent question is how they deal with the practical problem of children. The first apparent answer is that they do not deal with it at all.

At best, they propose to get rid of babies, or the problem of babies, in one of three typically modern ways. One is to say that there shall be no babies. This suggestion may be addressed to the individual; but it is addressed to every individual. Another is that the father should instantly send the babies, especially if they are boys, to a distant and inaccessible school, with bounds like a prison, that the babies may become men, in a manner that is considered impossible in the society of their own father. But this is rapidly ceasing to be a Modern method; and even the Moderns have found that it is rather behind the times. The third way, which is unimpeachably Modern, is to imitate Rousseau, who left his baby on the doorstep of the Foundling Hospital. It is true that, among the Moderns, it is generally nothing so human or traditional as the Foundling Hospital. The baby is to be left on the doorstep of the State Department for Education and Universal Social Adjustment. In short, these people mean, with various degrees of vagueness, that the place of the Family can now be taken by the State.

The difficulty of the first method, and so far, of the second and third, is that they may be carried out. The suggestion is made to everybody in the hope that it will not be accepted by everybody; it is offered to all in the hope that it may not be accepted by all. If nobody has any children, everybody can still be satisfied by Birth-Control methods and justified by Birth-Control arguments. Even the reformers do not want this; but they cannot offer any objection to any individual — or every individual. In somewhat the same way, Rousseau may act as an individual and not as a social philosopher; but he could not prevent all the other individuals acting as individuals. And if all the babies born in the world were left on the doorstep of the Foundling Hospital, the Hospital, and the doorstep, would have to be considerably enlarged. Now something like this is what has really happened, in the vague and drifting centralization of our time. The Hospital has been enlarged into the School and then into the State; not the guardian of some abnormal children, but the guardian of all normal children. Modern mothers and fathers, of the emancipated sort, could not do their quick-change acts of bewildering divorce and scattered polygamy, if they did not believe in a big benevolent Grandmother, who could ultimately take over ten million children by very grandmotherly legislation.

This modern notion about the State is a delusion. It is not founded on the history of real States, but entirely on reading about unreal or ideal States, like the Utopias of Mr. Wells. The real State, though a necessary human combination, always has been and always will be, far too large, loose, clumsy, indirect and even insecure, to be the ‘home’ of the human young who are to be trained in the human tradition. If mankind had not been organized into families, it would never have had the organic power to be organized into commonwealths. Human culture is handed down in the customs of countless households; it is the only way in which human culture can remain human. The households are right to confess a common loyalty or federation under some king or republic. But the king cannot be the nurse in every nursery; or even the government become the governess in every schoolroom. Look at the real story of States, modern as well as ancient, and you will see a dissolving view of distant and uncontrollable things, making up most of the politics of the earth. Take the most populous centre. China is now called a Republic. In consequence it is ruled by five contending armies and is much less settled than when it was an Empire. What has preserved China has been its domestic religion. South America, like all Latin lands, is full of domestic graces and gaieties; but it is governed by a series of revolutions. We ourselves may be governed by a Dictator; or by a General Strike; or by a banker living in New York. Government grows more elusive every day. But the traditions of humanity support humanity; and the central one is this tradition of Marriage. And the essential of it is that a free man and a free woman choose to found on earth the only voluntary state; the only state which creates and which loves its citizens. So long as these real responsible beings stand together, they can survive all the vast changes, deadlocks and disappointments which make up mere political history. But if they fail each other, it is as certain as death that ‘the State’ will fail them.

~G.K. Chesterton: Sidelights of New London and Newer York And Other Essays. (1932)

Uncle Buddy: Seven Confessions

3/25/2017

In studying our Bible we find there were seven men in the Old and New Testaments that had much to do with sacred history, made the most fearful confessions that ever fell from the lips of men, and yet there was but one of these men that received any benefit from his confession.

We first notice King Pharaoh; we find his confession recorded in Exodus 10: 16. His confession consisted of three words. Here is the confession as it fell from his lips: "I have sinned," and yet as fearful as his confession was and as far-reaching, and as horrible as the consequences of that confession meant to that man, yet he held on to his sins, until they put him in the bottom of the Red Sea, and though he made his confession, he received no benefit in the world from it.

We next notice a prophet, whose name was Balaam. In Numbers 22: 34 Baalam said, "I have sinned." His confession was an honest one; but as truly as Pharaoh had his heart set on keeping the Israelites in bondage, Balaam had his eye on Balak's gold. But this prophet was out of God's order, and he went to curse Israel for Balak, over the protest of the Lord. But on his way, the reader will remember, God sent an angel out to meet him, and a number of times when the donkey that Balaam rode came to the angel he was turned to the right or left, and while the donkey beheld the angel, Balaam did not see it. It seems a little strange that at times a dumb brute has a greater spiritual vision than a backslidden preacher, but nevertheless this was the case with this man Baalam, and when God couldn't do anything else with Balaam, he had the dumb beast that he rode speak to him in man's voice, and then Balaam made his fearful confession.

It was those three fearful words, "I have sinned," but nevertheless he kept his eye on Balak's gold until fifteen hundred years later God had St. Peter preach Balaam's funeral; and in Peter's discourse he said, "Balaam died, the lover of the wages of unrighteousness." The reader will notice that Pharaoh and Balaam made the same confession, and yet both died sinners.

We next notice a man whose name was Achan. We read this man's wonderful history in the Book of Joshua, recorded in the 7th chapter and 20th verse. We notice that Achan had disobeyed God and had stolen a Babylonish garment and a wedge of gold, and a few shekels of silver, and he held on to these things that he had stolen until he defeated the army of Israel, disgraced the cause that they represented, grieved the Lord, and caused thirty-six of his own brethren to be put to death, and his wife and children destroyed, and he himself was taken into the valley of Achor and stoned to death.

But we find that Achan had made the same fearful and awful confession that Pharaoh and Baalam had made. He said, "I have sinned," but he held on to his crookedness until it damned him. Beloved, when will we learn a lesson from these fearful and awful consequences of holding on to sins until they wreck and ruin precious and immortal souls? The reader will see that these three men made the same confession and neither of them received any benefit.

My judgment is that each of them made an honest confession, but nevertheless each man held on to the sins he had confessed until they destroyed him.

We will next notice King Saul. In I Samuel 26: 21 Saul said, "I have sinned," but he held on to his disobedience, and carried jealousy in his heart and laid plans to murder another man, and so grieved God that God would talk to Him no more. The reader will notice that Saul made the same confession that the other three had made, but nevertheless, don't forget, beloved, that Saul held on to his sins, though he had confessed them, until he fell on his own sword and ended his own life on Mount Gilboa. He was Israel's first king; he was chosen over God's protest and had a good start, but a fearful and awful ending. He held on to his sins until it was too late to get back to God.

Our next man that made this fearful confession was a man whose name was Shimei. We read of him in II Samuel 19: 20. Shimei said, "I have sinned," but he held on to his sins, and his crookedness, and his skullduggery until he was finally put to death by King Solomon, and died in disgrace, and left a blotch on Israel. Although his confession was honest, he did not forsake his sins, and they finally destroyed him, and I am convinced that every reader of this page can call to mind some friend or neighbor, or maybe some relative, who to their knowledge have made honest confessions time and again, but yet never did forsake their sins, until finally their sins destroyed and damned them.

We next notice probably one of the saddest characters described in the Holy Scriptures. This is Judas Iscariot. We read in Matthew 27: 4 these same three fearful words, "I have sinned," and yet while Judas confessed his sins, he held on to the thirty pieces of silver, until Christ was captured, and tried before Pilate and Herod. He had worn the crown of thorns and purple robe; He endured the Roman scourge, He had been beaten and was spit upon, mocked, and hissed as He staggered under the cross, and was finally nailed to the cross; the earth had reeled and staggered, and darkness like a nightmare had settled down over the Judean hills, and the Son of God had begged for water and had been refused, and could only have a cup of gall, and hardened sinners had wagged their heads and said, "Truly this was a righteous man," and yet, beloved, up to this time Judas is still holding on to those thirty pieces of silver. What a horrible thought, to think that a man of good intelligence will hold on to that which is perishable until he loses that which is eternal. Yet we find that Pharaoh, Baalam, Achan, King Saul, Shimei, and Judas Iscariot, all six, have done that very thing.

We next notice the prodigal son. This is the only man out of the seven who confessed and received any benefit. We read in the 15th chapter of Luke and the 18th verse, the words of the poor prodigal, "I have sinned." But the prodigal not only confessed, for no sooner had he made his confession to himself and the hog pen, he resolved to arise, retrace his steps, and go back to his father's house, and make the same confession there that he had made in the hog pen.

So we hear him say, "I have sinned, but I will arise and I will go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee; I am not worthy to be called thy son, make me to be one of thy hired hands.'" Thank God, he left the hog pen, and took up his lonely march, clothed in rags, facing a wrecked life, carrying a guilty conscience, but headed in the right direction.

Beloved, think of this, we next read that his father saw him when he was a great way off, and ran to meet him, and when the father met the wayward boy he fell on his neck and kissed him. The poor, dirty, ragged boy, undertook to make the same confession to his father that he made in the hog pen, but his father kissed him and pulled him to his bosom, and, bless God, the past record of the prodigal son was blotted out.

What a wonderful picture of God's love! Here we see such beautiful marks of the love of God, as He deals with a penitent soul.

We first notice the father ran to meet him. No man can read of the old father running to meet this returning prodigal and fail to see the wonderful interest that the father felt in his heart for that beloved boy.

In the second place, we can see the old father's arms around his boy, and he pulls him to his bosom. You can just see the old white locks hanging over the boy's shoulder, and the tears as they trickle down over the white beard.

In the third place, we see the old father planting the kiss of reconciliation on the face of his boy. There the father and the son were reconciled.

In the fourth place, we see the old father putting a beautiful robe on this returning boy.

Beloved, there is the robe of righteousness that our heavenly Father will hand over to every returning prodigal. This is a beautiful gospel robe. It meant the dark past was blotted out, the future before him was shining bright.

But, in the fifth place, we notice that the old father had them to bring a pair of shoes and put them upon his boy. Thank God, here we see a splendid pair of gospel shoes, and now the poor prodigal that was barefooted is "shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace."

In the sixth place, we notice that the old father put a ring on the hand of this boy. He now has his kiss of reconciliation, the beautiful robe of righteousness, the splendid gospel shoes, and just think of this, it was sealed with the father's ring, as it was placed upon the hand of the prodigal boy.

Now we notice the seventh thing that took place. Listen now, you will hear the old father testify. Here is his testimony. He said, "This, my son, was lost, but he is found; he was dead, but he is alive forevermore; I have received him safe and sound." A spiritually minded man can see that all of the above marks of these wonderful steps in divine things make up a clear cut case of salvation from sin. But we not only believe in the first work of grace, but, with John Wesley, believe in the second blessing, properly so-called.

And now we want to prove to the reader that though this young man had received so much, there was still room for a second blessing, for the old father now gives the command, "Let the fatted calf be killed, and let us make him a feast." And the next time we see the old boy he not only had the kiss of reconciliation, and the robe of righteousness, and the gospel shoes, and his diamond ring on, but, bless your heart, he had beef gravy all over his face, and the music was rolling, and the old boy was dancing, and they were making merry.

Now, beloved, don't you see that after this man had left the pig pen and had made his confession, and had received the kiss, and a robe, and a pair of shoes, and a ring, and had received his father's testimony that he was sound and was alive, yet up to this time the fatted calf was still kicking up his heels in the barnyard, showing that the boy didn't get the second blessing until after he had gotten the first.

And there is another point right here that can be noticed just at this time; while the music and dancing was going on, the elder son returned from the field, and raised a fuss with his father, and got mad, and would not go to the feast.

But, thank the Lord, the old prodigal sure did get the goods, and no make-believe about it.

I have always admired the man that will make his confession and go to the bottom in order that God may bring him back to the top, for after all the way up is down.

Praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow!

Robinson, Reuben A. (Bud) (2015-03-31). The Collected Works of 'Uncle Bud' Robinson (Kindle Locations 2345-2425). Jawbone Digital. Kindle Edition.

The great gift of parenthood

3/25/2017

Children are their parents' guests. They come into the space that has been created for them, stay for a while - fifteen, twenty, or twenty-five years - and leave again to create their own space. Although parents speak about "our son" and "our daughter," their children are not their property.

In many ways children are strangers. Parents have to come to know them, discover their strengths and their weaknesses, and guide them to maturity, allowing them to make their own decisions.

The greatest gift parents can give their children is their love for each other. Through that love they create an anxiety-free place for their children to grow, encouraging them to develop confidence in themselves and find the freedom to choose their own ways in life.

For further reflection...

"If the axe is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring it success." - Ecclesiastes 10:10 (NIV)

This devotional was written by Henri Nouwen.
You can find his website here: henrinouwen.org

Confined

3/24/2017

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. – John 8:36

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a very interesting documentary. This movie was rather short, but it followed the daily life of a man who lived in a way most of us would never consider living. This man lived in his car. I know what you are thinking…you may think that this occurrence is common enough, but simply making ones home in a station wagon does not give a full picture of this man’s life. This man, who is probably in his mid-40’s has not actually stepped out of his car in 7 years. The documentary answered the obvious questions we would have, and, sure enough it is all true. People bring him supplies, he orders fast food, he goes to gas stations where the workers pump the gas, mechanics work on the car with him in it, he has a job as a delivery driver, and the bathroom mechanics are all accounted for by pouring waste out of the back hatch into the woods.

He tells the story of when he bought the car he currently owns. He loved it so much, that it caused a rift and eventual divorce from his, now, ex-wife. This man describes in detail the comfort and solace he finds in this vehicle and the makeshift bed in the back emphasizes his point. One comment that was made in this film was that he felt so free being able to travel at a moment’s notice.

We can spend a lot of time judging this man, and acknowledging his emotionally impaired status. It is easy for us to throw figurative stones when we see an extreme living condition such as this. If we were to be honest, many of us could claim a similar mentality in the way we navigate our spiritual lives. We have become so comfortable with the sin and vices that weigh us down, or even the damaging thought processes we allow that it becomes part of us in an unhealthy way. We know God wants to free us from sin, and we even pray for freedom, but we secretly desire to return to our old ways because of familiarity. Maybe you are reading this today and you feel far away from God and you have never asked Him for restoration. It could be you have spent your life searching for what will make you feel free, but it has always resulted in captivity. You may have even convinced yourself that you are not living in bondage and being weighed down, but the truth is you are confined.

God is in the business of healing and transformation. You can be set free. It will not be comfortable at first. Don’t allow the devil to whisper lies into your ear that lead you to a path of destruction. Embrace Jesus today. Step out of your captivity.

Prayer for today: God, thank you for who you called me to be. Help me to live in freedom and help me to avoid the temptation to revert back to where I way. Make me into a new creation. Amen

This post was written by Rev DeCrastos. You can find his blog here: ministrysauce.com

Reforming Leader

3/23/2017

What exactly is meant by reforming? And how does it pertain to leadership? Whenever someone arrives at a local church or ministry there are already many things in place. The vast majority of which are wholesome and good and even necessary. Likewise, there are many things that have outlived their purpose and usefulness. Few if any can even remember why the program or event was begun. Over the years money and leaders have gathered around it, and it has become a part of who we are and what we do! There is little examination or evaluation of the things that are doing presently. An examination might reveal both ineffectiveness and the inefficiencies of many programs.

For years our churches were program driven. The effects of that are still felt to this very day. Nearly every week a pastor is asked what programs do you have at your church? Do you have a youth program? Do you have a children’s program? Do you have a women’s program? Do you have a men’s program? Do you have divorce recovery? Do you have a senior adult ministry? The list could go on for some time. Beside the usual programs that are expected in a church each local church culture has raised up several other programs as well. Many know that something is wrong and many things have lived beyond their season, but few want to make the hard decisions pertaining to these programs. This is why it is essential to have an agreed-upon vision statement followed up by mission statements which are followed by goals and strategies to fulfill the mission. Then there would be a yardstick with which to measure ministry effectiveness. Does the long-standing program help us fulfill our mission? Naturally the people who are vested in the programs will answer a resounding yes! But that must never be the end of it, one must continually ask the question, how does this assist us in pursuing our God ordained mission? Be prepared for the pushback that is sure to follow! You have just entered the class of interlopers. You have failed to understand how we do things the leader will be told.

Often, if not always, culture trumps mission!

Since there is literally no serious evaluating happening in our local churches, many programs are about to fall under the sheer weight and enormity of yesterday’s excess programming. It’s not just the programming it’s the expectations that gather around them and the few people who over the years were helped, now have an allegiance all out of proportion to the program’s effectiveness today. I am not being critical, just pointing out the obvious that most of us ignore or fail to see.
Entering into this arena is the reformer. The one who has a vision from God! One who has spent time in prayer and purposeful planning. One who has engaged people in the process of examining, how might our future look with Gods help? How can these bones live again? Few enter this arena. The gravitational pull of mediocrity is difficult to resist. The drama associated with calculated change that honors God spreads the gospel and disciples believers does cause painful episodes in local churches. My grandma started that program, and I see no reason for it to be stopped! Are you saying pastor that my grandmother was wrong? No your grandmother was right, in that day it was appropriate and powerful and had a kingdom impact.

The message never changes, methods constantly change. Yet visit many local churches and we are living in a bygone era. Instead of honoring the spirit of our forebears who were serious about spreading the gospel and being a force for Christ in their communities, we have made an unfortunate switch, we now honor safety and live in fear of our world. We forget it ultimately was the message not necessarily the packaging that made the difference.

Unfortunately, you and I were not called to serve 50 years ago. We must pause and admit that a great many of our churches were more effective 50 years ago than they are today. Many reasons are given for this, but one of the primary reasons is the fact God did give a vision and the people followed a strategic plan and implemented goals that were God given! Christianity is all about change, in fact you cannot become a Christian unless you transforming encounter with Jesus. Most of the important words of our faith are synonymous with change: conversion, transformation, salvation, sanctification and a host of other doctrines as well. Since Christianity has at its heart the idea of change, it is amazing how difficult change is for most people. Never ignore the fact that change is painful and everyone who is called upon to change knows they are giving something up, and something quite dear usually. You may call it whatever you wish but please do not ignore the fact that change for most folks including myself is quite painful.
In order to change, God sends us reformers. Men and women who are up to the challenge, full of grace and the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, and are committed to the cause and to loving the church. The task would be easier if I had a three step formula on how to implement change in the local church.

There is no such formula. Sorry!

God has raised you up to be a difference maker. You will have to prayerfully discern God’s will for the given situation in which he has called you. You will need to set a reforming agenda. Everything will be evaluated and scrutinized by the vision. No exceptions! Initially this will be uncomfortable and challenging. Most of us are by default status quo folks.

Every so often God sends a leader who possesses a heart for God and the people. These leaders love God and the church so much they cannot stand idly by and watch local congregations shrivel up and become places of yesteryear. Celebrate the past, celebrate the good things that God did in our midst in bygone years. And after the celebration, be diligent about the vision. Communicate it and let everyone know the vision determines what we do, who we are, and how things are going to be done around here. Not because it’s your way of doing things.

Most leaders live uncomfortable lives. A leader becomes uncomfortable because some things that the leader would like to hold onto have to be let go of as well. The leader has to model what change looks like, and has to have the integrity to serve the Lord and the vision for the congregation regardless of personal or corporate pain.

There is a reason there is not a army of reformers today. Reformers gather a host of complainers and, at times, hostile crowds. Hostile crowds who feel if we would just get rid of the reformer we could go back to the good old days.

Here is the truth: the good old days are not coming back! You must follow God in your day, in your generation and at this time. A portion of your leadership will be evaluated by your ability to reform your present situation. It is no small task and certainly not easy, yet it is what God has called you to.

This post was written by Dr Ron Blake. You can find his blog here: wesleyshorse.com

Repentance and holiness go hand in hand

3/22/2017

Becoming vulnerable is the first step toward freedom. Vulnerability exposes our weakness and enables God to break down strongholds. We cannot function in freedom until we become brave enough to confront the strongholds that hinder the advancement of the Kingdom in our lives.

God is so much better than we give Him credit for. I confess that I’ve done a poor job representing His goodness at times. The older I get the more inadequate I realize I am. The Lord has made revealed Himself to me in new ways in recent days. I often find myself laughing and crying at the same as He makes His Presence known. These fresh encounters with God have left me more humble, grateful, and free than I can ever remember. There is so much to discover about following Jesus; it’s a never ending journey. I’ve asked God to help me become a better example of His goodness along the way.

I’m currently living in a place of great paradox. On the one hand, I’ve never felt closer to Jesus and I’ve never been more aware of the Presence of the Holy Spirit. Yet on the other hand, I’ve never felt more burdened; I live with a constant sense of heaviness for the state of the Bride. In the midst of my burdens I’ve discovered the power of weakness and the freedom that exists when we come to the end of ourselves.

At the heart of repentance lies vulnerability. True freedom in Christ requires that I constantly confess my faults, that I lay my inadequacies on the altar. Building an altar in our lives is so important. I’m not saying that we sin everyday as in “willfully transgressing against God.” However, I firmly believe that when we fail to love well that we sin against God and others. That means my attitudes, actions, words, and thoughts matter deeply. It means the things that I should be doing that I neglect to do matter in my relationship with Jesus.

I’m convinced that a lifestyle of repentance is the foundation of holiness. The minute I don’t think I have anything wrong in my life is the moment I set myself up as God. I have so many things to constantly repent of; at the top of the list is busyness and distraction. Beyond that, I often repent for not praying enough. I repent of being impatient. I repent for not always responding to my family the way I should. I repent for making decisions, even small decisions, without adequately seeking Jesus. I repent of developing preconceived notions about other people. These are all things that I need to continually lay on the altar. Again, the altar is so important.

True repentance is the only way to break down strongholds. Being in a relationship with God is important, but being in a right relationship with God is essential, especially if we’re going to live the life He’s called us to live. Indeed, repentance and holiness go hand in hand.

Dying to self and taking up the cross daily is about killing the little hedonist that’s kicking and screaming inside of us all. The flesh is one of our biggest foes; it’s always seeking pleasure that lasts for a season. We’re called to kill the flesh every time it raises its ugly head by nailing it to the cross. And when it reappears, we have to do it again. For holiness to become a lifestyle repentance must become a regular practice.

Have you ever considered the corporate hedonist that often appears among the Body of Christ? When the church begins warring against itself Satan takes the throne. When we refuse to corporately take up our cross we take up our quarrels. The Apostle James tells us that this infighting comes from the desire to please self over the desire to please God (James 4). It’s always rooted in our inability to believe that God can give us everything we need.

Many of you know that I’ve given my life to the Church, and in particular, the Church of the Nazarene. My heritage is grounded in the Church of the Nazarene. I love the people called “Nazarenes” very much. However, at times I’ve loved her too much. I repent of ever making my denomination an idol. I repent for allowing the boundaries of the Church of the Nazarene to limit my perspective of the Kingdom. I repent for the times I’ve allowed my identity to become more wrapped up in the Church of the Nazarene than the Kingdom of Jesus. We’d all do well to remember that God is a lot bigger than our little tribe.

With that said, I am burdened for the church. I’m troubled over the lack of passion for revival and what seems to be protest against it by some. I’m burdened over the unfaithfulness and pettiness. I’m burdened over the toxic environment that exists in many places. I’m burdened over the manifestation of pride. I am praying that God break down these strongholds; and when I say break down, I mean crush.

I’m praying for people to be delivered from rigid fundamentalism because none of us are the judge. I’m praying for people to be delivered from dead religious formalism because God is alive and He needs room to move among His people. I’m praying for people to be delivered from progressive intellectual elitism because it’s opposite of the posture of humility. It saddens me to see so many places negatively affected by legalism, liberalism, antagonism, and a host of other “isms” that no doubt breaks the heart of God.

We need to become a “movement” again: one that’s led by the manifest Presence of the Holy Spirit. God forgive us for allowing the church to become a religious enterprise. Forgive us for turning the church into a business instead of a house of prayer. Forgive us for trying to climb the latter of success. Forgive us for being more concerned about what people think than we are what God thinks. Forgive us for trying to be something we’re not. Forgive us for not living by the principles of corporate prayer and repentance that You’ve prescribed in Scripture:

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

It’s time to cry out to God corporately. For the anointing of the Holy Spirit to fall on us again we must repent of our failed business strategies, hollow philosophies, lack of accountability, and broken theological constructs. The Father won’t settle for being an afterthought. He desires to be intimately involved in everything we do.

I hope you hear my heart. In the midst of my brokenness, my longing to be a better follower of Jesus is increasing. Brokenness is a good place to be. There’s a lot of freedom when we learn to live like there’s nothing to lose. Vulnerability that leads to repentance is the only thing that’ll break down the strongholds preventing us from experiencing the manifest Presence of the Holy Spirit.

God is so good. He’s better than I’ve ever imagined He could be. There are parts of His goodness that’s easily noticeable, yet often overlooked. I want to spend the rest of my life paying closer attention to who He really is and what He’s really like. For that to happen, vulnerability and repentance must become a common way of life.

This post was written by Rev L Powell. You can find his blog here: brianlpowell.com