Make a Joyful Noise unto the Lord

[i]

Psalm 98:4 

King James Version (KJV)

⁴ Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

As I write this, the world is in Russia watching the FIFA World Cup playoffs. Stadiums are full of fans who have gathered for two hours of a game between the teams of two different countries. When a player makes a great play, the whole stadium seems to rock under the roar of the gathered soccer aficionados. Around the world, people gather in pubs to watch the play and shout their feelings.

We were in Monterey, Mexico, during another playoff some years ago. Our host took his TV out onto his front patio, connected big speaker boxes to it, and all the neighbors gathered around. Even here great roars of approval would echo up and down the street as people expressed their enthusiasm for their home team’s performance.

What benefit did these millions of enthusiasts gain when their team scored a goal? From their responses one would think that this gave them long life and great wealth. When the home team would do poorly or when the competing team would score a goal, a loud moan of anger and pain would escape their lips. If one didn’t know better, one would wonder if the watching throng had just suffered incalculable loss. The supporters would debate long and vociferously about what the players should have done.

The liturgical church service I attend and often participate in is a carefully orchestrated performance that has every part carefully laid out and coordinated to fit exactly into a given time slot. We have grand music performed by a professional on a magnificent pipe organ. I must confess I love the magnificence of the music. I sit back and close my eyes and allow the organ waves of praise to God to thrill my every nerve, marrow, and fiber. If the music is especially moving, I will allow myself to respond with a subdued, reverent “Amen.” Otherwise, I follow the hymn’s injunction to “let all the earth keep silence before Him!”

When, on occasion, I read the liturgy, I do my best to read it meaningfully and with careful dignity. I would be stunned if what I read elicited a heartfelt response, no matter the sense of what I read, even if it came from the verse listed above: “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.” For some reason we just don’t worship God that way! Is this Laodiceanism?[ii] If so then God tells us he will spit us out of his mouth.

Lord, I love You for what You have done for me! Use my voice and my very soul to praise You with appropriate enthusiasm.

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[i] https://es.fifa.com/fifaeworldcup/photos/galleries/y=2014/m=9/gallery=ea-sportstm-fifa-15-for-sony-playstation-3-2444281.html

[ii] Indifference in religion or politics (from the Merriam Webster Dictionary)

Cancer Recovery

[i]

Isaiah 40:31 

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

³¹ but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary;
they will walk and not faint.

This week I completed my last chemo infusion. I started the chemo five months ago in January. At that time I had made remarkable recovery after the West Nile Virus bout I contracted a year and a half before. Our dog Katie and I would walk over the La Sierra Hills in front of and behind our home. Katie would come home dragging her tail behind her and trying to duck into the shade of every desert plant that looked like it might offer a bit of cool respite.

Then I started the chemo. Within a scant fortnight I was winded just walking up to the Pumpkin Rock nestled on a low point on the ridge to the west of our home. Since then I have only once or twice made it up to the saddle point—an even lower destination. Otherwise I have restricted my goings to the almost level area in our valley. I walk with uncertain steps and brace myself for any slight slip on the dirt. I feel this constant headache that decries my actually being upright. Sylvia walks next to me gently pushing the middle of my back on the uphill stretches.

Meanwhile Katie runs joyfully around and digs energetically in every gopher burrow and rabbit hole she can find. I have pushed myself to walking about 2,000 steps according to a pedometer program I have on my smart phone. Then I return home and sit in the recliner and allow my heart and lungs to catch up with my body. Usually I am too tired to even sleep, but if I do, it will often be an hour and a half before I awaken. That is unless Katie suddenly explodes into a barking session.

Now that I am no longer being infused with the chemo poison that is supposed to zap the cancer I’m carrying, I eagerly await the renewal of my strength in a very literal sense. The Lord brought me back from a much closer brush with death during my West Nile episode. I fully trust that he will again fulfill this promise in Isaiah.

I thank You, Lord, that I can trust in Your promises and that You have seen fit to preserve me a second time. Let’s go for it, Lord!

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[i] https://www.google.com/search?q=pumpkin+rock+hike+norco&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS744US744&source=lnms&tbm=i

Adventist Missionaries to Africa

[i]

Acts 2:17 

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁷ And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams

This weekend the Fellowship of Adventist Missionaries to Africa (FAMA) held its biennial meeting in Cicero, Indiana. I had been planning to be there for two years now, but my cancer treatments nixed that possibility. I have been leading FAMA for most of the last 4 years but left it in the very capable hands of Charles Schlunt. Imagine my delight when Dr. Russell Staples phoned me Sabbath afternoon and gave me a firsthand report of the meetings.

In 1954 my father, C. Fred Clarke, was called to Solusi Mission, then a 10 grade high school to convert it into a 4 year college for the training of Africans to prepare them to be leaders in the Adventist Church. He overcame almost insurmountable obstacles, and in due course they graduated their first four students. When I was in Tanzania, I had the privilege of working very closely with Thomas Lisso, one of those first four graduates.

Dr. Staples, Professor of World Mission, Emeritus, at Andrews University is a pioneer Adventist missionary both from Africa and to Africa. He started teaching at Solusi with Dad. Then he became the second president of the university and set it on its very successful course. It is one of the major universities in the country of Zimbabwe and was the only university to remain open during the worst of that country’s tragic financial collapse. Solusi has had as many as 5,000 students from many parts of Africa. It is practically at the center of the Southern Africa—Indian Ocean Division of Seventh-day Adventists, apparently the largest division of the Adventist Church.

Dr. Staples reported that of the close to 22 million Adventists in the world, 11 million live in Africa, and of those 3.5 million are in the SAIO Division. This success can be traced back to the far sighted leaders who yielded to the leading of the Spirit to prepare for this vast need and tremendous growth.

Last summer Sylvia and I stopped by the Staples home where we were hosted for several days. I encouraged Dr. Staples to give a presentation at the FAMA meetings. At the time he turned me down, but I was delighted when Charles visited him, and he agreed to do it. He gave an overview of the history of missions in Africa, and his presentation was well received.

If you would like to be placed on the mailing list for the FAMA Newsletter, please contact me by responding to me on this blog.

Lord, thank You for the Outpouring of Your Holy Spirit and for those willing to follow Your leading.

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[i] http://solusi.ac.zw/event/voluntary-week-of-spiritual-emphasis/

God Will Provide

[i]

Genesis 22:8 

American Standard Version (ASV)

⁸ And Abraham said, God will ^[a]provide himself the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son: so they went both of them together.

After I taught in Tanzania for five years, the mission offered to send me back to graduate school to earn my doctorate. Actually they sponsored me for the standard nine months, and then I was on my own to finance the rest of the degree. I spent those nine months back at the University of Iowa passing my PhD comprehensive examinations and reacquainting myself with people in the department.

One of my fellow graduate students had just finished his dissertation and was looking for a teaching position. He sent out applications to over 1,000 colleges and universities. Eventually he heard back from two of these institutions and was finally accepted at an obscure women’s college. His experience alerted me to the new reality. When I did my Masters degree six years earlier, there were job openings for mathematicians all across the country. But by this time there were more new mathematicians than there were jobs available.

When I approached my math department and asked whether I could obtain a teaching assistantship, they were very hesitant about even considering my application. As I chatted with them, they helped me understand that the university felt some responsibility for actually placing their graduates. They could see that in the present job climate that could be very difficult.

Sending up a quiet prayer, I explained that I was at the university on a leave of absence and that there was a position available for me when I completed my studies. That was what the committee needed to hear. They enthusiastically agreed to support me for the next three years with a teaching assistantship that was sufficient to cover our family expenses and my tuition.

Thank you, Lord, for providing sufficient for our needs throughout our life.

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[i] http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/higher-education/university-of-iowa-changes-leadership-strategy-20171112

How Do We Determine Truth?

[i]

John 4:24

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

²⁴ God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Sylvia and I were studying with a woman who showed much interest in what the Bible teaches. She had a roly-poly little dog that was covered in long black curly hair. He would welcome us each time we came with the exuberance only a little dog can show. Then he would settle in her lap, and she would feed him chocolates while we talked. (Don’t believe all the stories about how bad chocolate is for dogs. It certainly wasn’t bad for this little dog. If you are older, you’ll remember that doctors used to say that chocolate was bad for us, too.) This woman liked and accepted everything as we went along.

Eventually, we reached the study of what day was the day of worship. We pointed out that Jesus kept his Sabbath on Saturday, the day the Jews went to the synagogue. We talked about how the disciples kept the Sabbath after Christ’s death and resurrection. We prayed about it and invited her to church on the next Sabbath. We also told her to think about the topic. Naturally she had an excuse for not joining us the next Sabbath.

The next time we met to study with her, the little dog danced and barked his excitement at seeing us again. His whole body wagged with his tail. We inquired about what thoughts she had about the Sabbath. She answered readily, “Let’s pray about it!” We concurred.

“Jesus, should I keep the Sabbath!” she demanded in a loud voice. Then even louder, “Answer me, Jesus! Do you want me to worship on Saturday?” She continued her pleading and demanding for well over five minutes.

Neither she, nor we, heard any response from Jesus or anyone else. Finally she turned to us and said decidedly, “See, Jesus didn’t answer me. He would have answered me if he really wanted me to keep your Sabbath.” We spent some time talking about how God speaks to us. Sometimes He does speak to people directly and openly. Much more often He chooses to let us reason from the Bible what course of action He expects us to pursue. To worship Him in spirit and truth we need to be open to both sources.

We visited a couple more times, but her spirit had cooled, and though she didn’t express any animosity towards us, it became evident that the Holy Spirit could no longer reach her through us. So we parted as friends and fellow Christians but not as fellow believers.

Lord, please help me to follow You as You reveal Yourself to me.

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[i] https://www.thepointcommunity.net/2015/06/12/spirit-and-truth-frankfort-61415/

When is it Essential and When Not?

[i]

2 Timothy 2:23 

New King James Version (NKJV)

But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.

We attended church one Sabbath in one of the larger Adventist churches in Michigan. Two of my cousins were with me, one Adventist and the other Lutheran. We were planning to eat at the Sabbath potluck after the service. (Dad always used to say, “If you want to taste good vegetarian food, attend an Adventist church potluck.”)

While we were waiting for the good ladies to get things going on the potluck, I noticed an old man in a wheelchair. On a second look I recognized him as Edward Specht, my major professor from college days some 50 years previously. He was well up in his nineties but still totally with it intellectually. I knew him to be someone who “did not suffer fools kindly.” We were having a great time reminiscing when a woman walked up to me and demanded, “Are you from La Sierra?”

“I am!” I replied, and turned back to Ed.

“Well, it’s a crime what you are teaching to those Adventist youth.” She was on her soap box in full style. She went on and on with accusations and misinformation.

I tried to gently and politely get rid of her or shut her up: to no avail. She was just itching for a fight. Finally, I assumed my voice of authority and commanded her, “Listen, lady, I am visiting with my former major professor whom I haven’t seen in decades. Leave us alone!” I turned my back on her and continued talking with Ed. She finally left in a huff, figuratively shaking the dust off her feet. Ed looked half amused and half pained. I knew he had been subject to controversies and bigots before that he simply had to walk away from.

I began to sympathize with Paul who had to face bigots who criticized his stance on things like circumcision and eating of certain foods. Over the years the topics have changed from the nature of Christ, to communion service, to baptism, to origins, to ordination, to wearing of clothes or jewelry, to evolution, to the role of women in church, to sexual preference. Historically people have actually died for their stance in the particular argument of the day

La Sierra and all other Adventist universities are walking a serious tight rope between keeping their secular accreditation and meeting church expectations. To best meet the intellectual and spiritual needs of the students, La Sierra requires all students who take freshman biology, where the subject of evolution is ever present, to take a 10 week seminar to help them reconcile science and Scripture.

Lord, may Your prayer for us to be one in Your love be fulfilled in Your church today in spite of our different understandings!

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[i] https://rogerhollander.wordpress.com/tag/religious-bigotry/

Just Where Is Heaven?

[i]

Ephesians 3:17-19

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

¹⁷ and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love,¹⁹ and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Some have pointed out that Heaven is a spot on the other side of the Great Orion Nebula. Furthermore God’s administrative center must be hidden behind this magnificent nebula.

On the other hand we view that God is the creator or prime generator of not only our Solar System but of the entire vast universe we detect beyond it. Whether your concept of this creation stretches back in time to a monumental week some 6,000 years ago--or to an inconceivably huge big bang some fourteen billion years ago--or some point of the past in between, you probably have breathed the query, “What was God doing in the eternity before this universe?”

St. Augustine quoted someone who quipped in response to this question, “He was preparing hell for those who pry into mysteries.”[ii] From the context of this remark Augustine clearly regarded this answer as an ill-posed jest.

But seriously, since God is “the same yesterday, today, and forever;”[iii] He was undoubtedly creating other universes. Where might he place these other universes? Well, certainly not within our universe; they must indeed be “beyond” or “outside” our universe, which was not here before He created it.

It is not impossible that Paul was hinting at a possibly vaguely understood concept when he expressed a four-dimensional measuring “length and width, height and depth” of God’s love. This concept just might be vital for our understanding of the presence of God. If there is another spatial dimension besides the three in our universe, then God would not have to be in a heaven over 1344 light years away. He might be just a scant millimeter away in this fourth spatial dimension and yet be beyond our sensory perception of Him.

Writers of the newly reincarnated science fiction Star Trek series hint at a similar notion of a space “warp”. How can space be warped unless it is in a dimension outside of the space itself?

Thank You, Lord, for being ever close to our side at all time!

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[i] http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/Portal-Vortex-Time-Travel-Wormhole-Warp-Space-2514312

[ii] Book XI, Chapter 12 of the Confessions of St Augustine

[iii] Hebrews 13:8 (HCSB)