Persecute Children?

Psalm 51:15

The Voice (VOICE)

¹⁵ O Lord, pry open my lips
    that this mouth will sing joyfully of Your greatness.

[i]

Jocelyn (not her real name) was a student in a local public middle school. Their class had been studying Islam in their religion class. The class syllabus had them study all of the major world religions, except Christianity, in reasonable depth. They took at least three weeks for each religion. Students were required to try and think like a Muslim or a person in whatever religion they were studying at the time. They were to find all of the good things about the religion and not allowed to say anything negative about it.

In my schooling, the 8^th grade was the time our class went through the doctrines our church taught very, very thoroughly and completely. To this day the concepts I have of our doctrines is what I remember from that course when I was 12 years old. Naturally over the years my mature, analytical mind has reevaluated how I think about them today, but the foundation was laid that year−the year I was baptized. So personally, I regard that time frame in a child’s life as being most formative.

Jocelyn is by nature a very shy and retiring student, not wanting to make waves. She was unable to reconcile what she was learning in school and the fanatical Islamic terror tactics that she saw each night on TV. Finally the Lord opened her mouth, and she told her class that she is a Christian saved by grace and that “there is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved.” The teacher was horrified and sent her to the principal. The principal suspended her from school. He later told Jocelyn’s father that it is illegal to mention the name of Christ in a California public school. Jocelyn was not to come back to school until she signed a contract that she would not talk about Christ or Christianity on campus ever again. Of course her parents, who are new Christians attending one of the popular mega-churches, could not tolerate that denial of the American Bill of Rights to their daughter and have moved her to a Christian school.

Martin Luther, who suffered extreme opposition and persecution throughout his life, commented about this verse. “By asking the LORD to open his lips, David showed how difficult it is to offer thanks to God. This is something God demands of us. Talking about the Lord and thanking him publicly require an extreme amount of courage and strength because the devil is constantly trying to stop people from doing this. If we could see all of Satan’s traps, we would know why David prayed for the Spirit’s strength and asked the Lord himself to open David’s lips. He wanted to tell the devil, the world, kings, princes, and everyone about the Lord.”[ii]

Lord, open my lips and then use them to speak Your praises.

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[i] http://koha.andrews.edu/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=725217&query_desc=au%3A%22Gow%2C%20Haven%20Bradford.%22

[ii][ii] Martin Luther By Faith Alone: 365 Devotional Readings Update in Today’s Language,  ed. James C. Galvin (pub. 1998 by World Bible Pub. Iowa Falls, IA) from the page for November 15. 

The Elusive One-ness with God

John 15:6

The Voice (VOICE)

⁶ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is like a branch that is tossed out and shrivels up and is later gathered to be tossed into the fire to burn.

[i]

On Hindu New Year I went to the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (temple) in Chino Hills. Hundreds of people were out for the festival of the feeding the gods. I was assured by one of the elders that this branch of Hindu is monotheistic. Tucked between patterns of lotus blossoms, peacocks, and intricate lattice work, thousands of exquisitely carved figures in formal poses, each unique, adorned the white marble interior as well as the red sandstone exterior of this beautiful temple. He went on to explain that these represented those who through many reincarnations and endless effort had achieved perfect harmony with the one God. They no longer had to suffer the endless reincarnations but were living with God. Looking through their literature in the adjacent gift shop, I found that these magnificent achievers are (lesser?) gods. Their lives are full of high adventure trying to help those still on earth escape their corporal bondage. Behind golden doors are the extremely beautiful gods and goddesses clothed in gold, scarlet, and bejeweled all over. On this blessed New Year’s Day (Diwali), beautifully arranged as an offering on steps in front of each of these gods lay an almost endless supply of the best Indian foods, all vegetarian, of course. Every inch of the Mandir was permeated with the delicious aroma of curry.

[ii]

Martin Luther wrote of his experience in trying to achieve this oneness with God, “When I was a monk, I read mass daily. I weakened myself with prayer and fasting so much that I couldn’t have kept it up for much longer. Yet all of my efforts couldn’t help me in the smallest temptation. I could never say to God, ‘I have done all this. Look at it, and be merciful to me.’ What did I achieve with all this striving? Nothing; I merely tormented myself, ruined my health, and wasted my time. Now I’m forced to listen to Christ’s judgment on my works. He says, ‘You did all this without me. That’s why it amounts to nothing. Your works don’t belong in my kingdom. They can’t help you or anyone else obtain eternal life.’

“So in this passage, Christ has passed a terrifying judgment over all works—no matter how great, glorious, and beautiful they might appear. If these works are performed apart from Christ, they amount to nothing. They may appear to be great in the eyes of the world, for the world considers them excellent and precious. But in Christ’s kingdom and before God, they are truly nothing.”[iii]

Thank You Lord for Your infinite sacrifice to make me holy in Your sight, to fit me to be united with You forever in Your home. Thank You for taking my life and having Your Spirit live Your life in me.

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[i] https://www.gg2.net/newImage/original/1357118117_04_Mandir_3.jpg

[ii] http://www.baps.org/Data/Sites/1/Media/LocationImages/LocationPhotos/43GuidedTour_001.jpg

[iii] Luther, Martin By Faith Alone 1998 ed. James C. Galvin pub. World Bible Publishers, Iowa Falls, Iowa, on the reading for November 2

I need your counsel!

1 Corinthians 10:25-29

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

²⁵ Eat anything that is sold in the market without letting your conscience trouble you. ²⁶ Certainly, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything it contains is his.” ²⁷ If an unbeliever invites you to his house for dinner, and you wish to go, eat anything he serves you without letting your conscience trouble you. ²⁸ However, if someone says to you, “This was sacrificed to a god,” don’t eat it because of the one who informed you and because of conscience. ²⁹ I’m not talking about your conscience but the other person’s conscience. 

[i]

I took a group from my church on a tour last Thursday. We visited the local Hindu temple on their new year, Diwali. I noticed that some of the people were very, very nervous on the whole tour. In the Indian food market near the visitors’ center I purchased some food. The sellers looked very shocked when some of our group asked if any of their food had meat in it. To my knowledge, any good Hindu is a vegetarian. The food is all marked “Swaminarayan Vegetarian”. Some of my group looked very nervous in the market. I didn’t understand what was making them so nervous. In the car on the way home I opened the Masala Papdi and passed it around. Some took it and enjoyed it. Others wouldn’t touch it. After a while one of the nervous ones said, “Did you read the statement in small print at the bottom of the label?”

It reads “This package contains sanctified, vegetarian cuisine prepared and offered to the divine image of God in accordance with the dietary beliefs of the Bochasanwasi Shree Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan denomination of the Hindu religion.”

I confess I was taken aback, not from the statement on the package, but that there should be a question about food offered to idols in this Christian era. We talked a bit about it, and it was quite clear that these people had definite fear and trepidation about consuming foods that had been offered to “devils”.[ii]

We had guests over for Sabbath lunch, and I tried the masala and the concern on this group. They enjoyed eating it and expressed no feelings of any hesitations about eating it.  

I’ve read chapters 8 and 10 of 1 Corinthians enough times so that I remembered the counsel there without looking it up. However, never in my whole life, especially having lived in a Christian environment most of my life, did I expect that this would ever be an issue! Now I need your counsel! Let me know your thoughts on what my course of action should be!

Dear Lord, what a strange predicament I find myself in. I know that the offering of food to idols makes no difference to my conscience, my health, or my faith. I have found out that it does concern some others, though not many. Please give me wisdom about what is appropriate now in a Christian environment in 2015.

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[i] http://www.salebhai.com/content/images/thumbs/0006356_sukhadia-garbaddas-bapuji-masala-papdi.jpeg

[ii] 1 Corinthians 10:20

Recession & Recovery

Psalm 16: 6-7 

(New International Version, ©2010)

6 …Surely I have a delightful inheritance. 

7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; 

   

   My parents went to Africa in the middle of the great depression. Dad taught at a small Christian college there, and Mom stayed home to look after us. Salaries were never enough, but they were frugal and educated us two boys in Christian schools. This often meant going without a much needed pair of shoes to keep us in school.

    

   Due to the political issues in Africa, I was shunted off to boarding school at the age of 12. I learned to fend for myself. After I fell in with bad company, only the grace of God kept me sober and out of jail. Because of a pharisaical, legalistic emphasis at the school, I was persuaded that I had out-sinned God’s grace and was destined for eternal punishment. A young soldier took an interest in me and my soul; and refused to give up until I came to know the real grace of a loving God.

    

   After 12 years as missionaries in Africa, my wife and I returned to the States essentially penniless but happy and content in the Lord. Decades later we own our home and have been living out of debt for many years.

[i]

   During the recent recession, my brother and both of my brothers-in-law, along with many others in the family, lost their jobs. I kept mine. Our children are all employed. Friends ask me why I didn’t retire earlier. I reply that as long as I enjoyed my job and I had the health, I’d continue working.

    

   Am I uncertain about the future? Yes! Indeed. But I am certain of one thing: we serve a marvelous God. He has blest us through 50 years of married life, through poverty but never want, through rough times but with a strong faith that the grace of God is still abundantly more than enough to meet our deepest needs. Retired now, we live comfortably with the assurance that this is but a prelude to the delightful inheritance awaiting us.

    

   Praise to You, Lord God Almighty, for the sure inheritance you have prepared for us!

  

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[i] http://abcnews.go.com/images/WNT/abc_wn_harris_jobs_120504_mn.jpg