The Yoke's on Us

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. -- Galatians 5:1

I have known a lot of wicked people in my life.  I still see one in the mirror on a regular basis.  I’m not sure how I would rank them, but my hierarchy may differ from others.  I would look, if I could, not just at the destruction done in the physical realm but in the spiritual as well.  One man in particular would be a contender for the most evil person I ever had to deal with personally.  He was a preacher – a gifted, intelligent teacher and motivator, a tall, distinguished-looking man.  Women might have called him handsome; many were certainly smitten by him. 

We’ll call him JM.  He appeared be a Jesus Man.  JM knew how to draw crowds.  He knew how to build up churches, numerically and in terms of new physical structures.  When he came to town, a building program was a given.  When I first met him, I thought he was also one to build people up spiritually.  I would say that I learned quite a bit from him in the year or so I attended his church.  We did not come from another congregation in town as most of the “new” adherents did.  My wife had been Catholic, but she had recently started seeking God more or less on her own.  She picked the church.  I followed along. 

JM was the preacher that first morning.  He had just arrived in town from his most recent encouraged resignation.  He did a good job.  His preaching was dynamic and well-structured, moving from point to point, building soundly upon the rational while appealing to the emotions.  He talked a lot about the Spirit and about the Anointing, which, of course, he had.  He also had a nice personable touch with everybody, but he was always seeking out the leaders in a community.  He had once been a police officer, and he was soon a reserve deputy for our county sheriff, one of the few people who could legally carry a concealed firearm in those days.  And JM was always armed.  He drew in politicians, cops, and veterans almost as well as he drew in silly women.  I liked the son-of-a ... uh, the "sleekit cooser", though in the end, I had to be restrained by a good friend from going after him with a loaded shotgun.  I would have blown his head off with the same sincere regret I would have had over putting down a good dog that had developed an incurable taste for chicken-killing.  I’m still not sure my friend did the right thing in stopping me.

Of course, he committed adultery with both single and married women in the congregation.  He beat his wife, who really was a decent person.  He sought to destroy those who opposed him in anyway.  Sometimes the attempts were subtle, sometimes not.  The associate pastor he brought in knew less about the Bible than most Primary Class kids, but he, too, was a former police officer.  He was an enforcer.  It was not uncommon to see his car parked in the neighborhood of someone who had offended JM.  I saw him drive by my house several times, and we lived in very different parts of town.   

In addition to the usual sins of apostate preachers, he committed at least one rape.  It is quite likely that he molested younger girls, possibly including his own teenage daughter.  He may have had a part in the death of one of his other children.  His connections protected him.  You almost have to admire the guy.  He was smart, and he knew how to set himself up.  He may still be living – he’s only a few years older than I am.  Personally, though, and I know it’s wrong, I have trouble not hoping he is rotting in hell. 

None of this has anything to do with what was on my mind this morning.  Rather, it is a phrase of which JM was very fond and which I associate with him.  Any time anything was going wrong or there was trouble of any kind, JM would remind his listeners that “God is in control.”  I can almost hear him now, “I believe that all things work together for good, that God is omnipotent and sovereign, that nothing comes to us outside His will, that He rules this world and all that is in it.  Rest assured, my friends, that no temptation has taken you, no trial comes upon you that does not include God’s way of escape.  He will see you through and not test you beyond what you are able to bear.”

JM knew a lot about escapes. 

I think he only wrecked one more church after he got away from me and my 12-gauge.  His poor wife had finally had enough.  The surviving kids were old enough that she felt safe in divorcing him.  He ended up – last I heard, married to some “Christian” counselor and, no doubt, offering help and hope to desperate people – especially the female kind.  

And God is in control.  We see that from Job.  The devil, even apart from the Cross, has always been restrained.  His power lies solely in temptation, in enticing our own desires, “[t]hen desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:13-15).  Creation is free, almost by definition.  Life and freedom are nearly synonymous.  We can see it in the passage from James as we can throughout the Bible. 

No one compels us to sin, to lust, to envy, to hate, to gossip, to destroy, to seek revenge, to blow some thoroughly deserving scallywag into the next world.  No one but us.  God is not the author of evil.  He is, however, the author of liberty, and, as we see in the current political realm, liberty makes a lot of people uncomfortable.  Most folks seem to prefer a comforting kind of slavery to the responsibility of freedom.  There is something appealing to many of us in blaming the boss, the spouse, the government, the devil, even God, for the mess in our lives. 

Freedom is more important than comfort.  Do not allow yourself to be enslaved no matter how comfortable the chains may be.  Choosing to stand with Christ is standing for liberty.  In the previous post I talked about recognizing God’s authority rather than worshiping the idol of power.  Living in freedom is a closely related concept.  By recognizing and accepting the authority of God, by living under Him as our King, we enter into freedom. 

Christ allowed those who rejected God’s authority to render Him powerless, to take away His freedom that He might liberate all who were in bondage to their own sin-born offspring.  Those today who reject the authority of God and refuse to acknowledge Him as King, by default, still crucify Him.   Whether or not God has power in our lives is up to us.  That is FREEDOM! 

Mighty Right vs. Mighty Wrong

The task must be to banish from mankind's thought the idea that anybody has the right to use force against righteousness, against justice, against mutual agreements – Solzhenitsyn

And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. -- Matthew 28:18

And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. -- Luke 15:20

We sometimes read Matthew 28:18 as “all power”, but the Greek word is transliterated as exousia, authority.  God is a God of authority – because He’s God.  He is not the God of compulsion.  If God compels everything then we are not free moral beings. 

When Jesus told the story of the Prodigal, it was in the context of two other parables in Luke 15, the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin.  These three stories share some common elements, but the last story differs in one critical aspect.  In the case of the lost sheep, the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine and goes in search of the one to carry that sheep back into the fold.  When the woman lost a coin, she brought in lights and actively swept the floor seeking her lost treasure. 

When the younger son came asking for his inheritance, the father gave it to him and allowed him to leave home.  The father did not travel into the far country looking for the boy, nor did he send his servants out to find him and drag his worthless rear home.  There is no active intervention on the father’s part – until the son makes a decision to leave the pigpen and go home.  The father has been watching the road, sees his son and recognizes him at a great distance.  He does not wait at that point but runs out to welcome and embrace him.  Why didn’t he do that before?  Why didn’t he go after his son? 

A man is not a sheep or a coin.  We are God’s highest creations, given a free will, given a choice to rebel or obey.  The first two parables illustrate aspects of God’s love and concern for us, His longing for us, while the story of the Prodigal gives us a fuller indication of how God works in the world.  Never is it God’s will that there be rebellion and evil any more than it was the will of the father that his son abandon his home, squander his inheritance and wreck his life.  The father had authority, but he refused to use force or compulsion.    

There may be cases where God makes it almost impossible for a chosen one to “kick against the pricks”, as happened with Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus.  The Good Shepherd may go after a sheep and carry it in.  He may unleash the Hound of Heaven on our trail to rout us from our briars and holes.  But even then, He leaves us free to choose.  At the very least, we lift up our heads and utter a plaintive cry for release from the pit into which we have fallen.  We must take the first critical step away from the filth and muck, back toward home.  Certainly then His hand will be upon us to sustain us on that right path. 

The quote from Solzhenitsyn helps us realize that authority is no longer something in which the world is heavily invested.  The world recognizes only the perverted authority that flows from force – from the barrel of a gun, to put it in Marxist terms.  This seems to be the case with much of Islam, certainly with the dominant elements of political Islam.  Conversely, the Judeo-Christian worldview rejects force and compulsion and recognizes what we sometimes call “moral authority”.  This is a redundancy as, in reality, there is no other kind. 

We use force against compulsion in defense of righteousness and justice, life and liberty.  That is the only reason for it, the only justification.  When force is used in place of authority, when the government uses armed and armored intimidators to enforce compliance, we call it a police state. 

Why Does It Always Have to be Snakes?

The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”  And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it.  But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand.  – Exodus 4:2-4

For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.   If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.   Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.   …

… How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!   And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life,  and set on fire by hell.   For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind,  but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. – James 3:2-8 (emphasis added)

Moses was supposed to speak on God’s authority, for God to the people of Israel.  In order to establish his credentials, the simple shepherd’s staff that Moses carried became a symbol of divine office as well as a key for unveiling the supernatural reality.  Moses raised his staff at the Red Sea and the waters parted.  Moses struck a dry rock and a spring of water was released.  When he confronted Pharaoh, initially, Moses cast down his staff and it became a snake, as had happened in the desert.  The Egyptian court magicians could do the same thing – a pretty neat trick, we must admit, but the serpent of Moses swallowed up the other snakes, indicating the superiority of power and position that had been given to him. 

The shepherd’s staff is a means of guiding and defending the flock and, as such, it is a natural symbol of authority.   As the staff is used to guide a flock, a bridle and bit can be used to guide a horse and a rudder can guide a ship.  Relative to what they are guiding, staffs, rudders, and bits are small, yet their effects can be impressive.  So, too, the human tongue, though a diminutive organ, could be considered not only the most powerful muscle in the body but the most potent force on the face of the earth.  Words have destroyed countless lives, even whole civilizations.  But, of course, words also create beauty and give life.  Words can release us from bondage, inspire and empower us. 

I find it thought-provoking that when the staff of Moses came in contact with the ground, it became a serpent – the wisdom and authority of God is seen by those who oppose it as cunning.  Jesus told us to be wise as serpents though harmless as doves.  It can be scary.  Moses ran from it.  Most of us, when God breaks into our natural world and disturbs our perceptions of reality, are uncomfortable if not terrified. 

What we say can have a powerful impact on ourselves as well as those around us.  The proverb says that life and death are in the power of the tongue.  I am, more often than not, far too hasty in speaking, too concerned with being clever or witty to take into account the consequences of my words.  It is easy to insult and ridicule others.  Levity and humor are good things, especially when they arise from our joy in life.  Laughter is beneficial, and we should have opportunities to laugh everyday.   Keep in mind, though, that sarcasm means to cut the flesh.  It can be used wisely, but never should it be used indiscriminately.  Mockery is a blade that cuts both ways and may be as devastating to the mocker as to the one mocked. 

If I hurt someone it is not a joke, no matter what I claim – and that is especially true if I mean for it to hurt. 

Christ dwells in us.  We have authority as believers.  In fact, I think we wield that authority whether we know it or not.  I have been listening to an audio version of the James Allen classic As A Man Thinketh. While it has a sort of new-agey vibe to it, Allen was much closer to the biblical view than most modern purveyors of stuff like The Secret.  All he is really saying is that our thoughts and our words are the seeds of habits and character.  Our lives are like gardens that grow what we plant.  We should be careful what we sow. 

It’s hard, but I really want more of God and less of me to be manifest in my life and circumstances.  We can think God’s thoughts after Him and speak the words Christ would speak.  There will still be plenty to laugh at – just laughing at myself will keep me in stitches.  There’s no need to throw my tongue on the ground just for entertainment, just to look cool or to be ever so snide.  If I’m not following the rules, when I try to pick it up by the tail, I may end up bitten myself.

Weakened Warriors

Be sober! Be on the alert! Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him … -- 1 Peter 5:8-9

It irritates me to give the devil his due, to recognize that evil is capable of overcoming good if good does nothing – and especially if good underestimates evil. It also irritates me a little to have to deviate from my planned series of posts, but a blogger’s got to do what a blogger’s got to do, and there’s nothing like reading the wrong books to throw a wrench in the works.

I think the resistance to acknowledging evil’s power arises from a sense that evil is stupid. When I do something bad, I usually think of myself as having “done something dumb”. I think that helps me minimize my culpability, if you know what I mean. It’s my cloak of stupidity. I suppose, then, I have a tendency to project this idea of stupid evil onto others. We want to think the best of people so we assume they are just doing evil things out of a lack of knowledge. This is reinforced by stupid criminals – like the people who robbed a convenience store, fled on foot then came back for their car while the police were interviewing witnesses at the scene.

But not all criminals are caught, and some are caught only because of a minor blunder or perhaps being double-crossed by a confederate. Many criminals are quite intelligent, and many are very clever. It's the same with evil politicians. We should never have underestimated Bill Clinton’s intelligence just because he was a low-life, redneck scumsucker. We have put the Republic in danger by underestimating the intellectual power and cleverness of Barack Obama, his advisors, and fellow-travelers.

The devil, in whatever guise one chooses to think of him, is a real entity with incredible intelligence along with knowledgeable, malicious intent, and a degree of authority over the worldlings who either ignore him (the vast majority) or willingly collaborate with him (a small but potent minority). Those who follow the occult are not, as I am often inclined to characterize them, a group of deceived, goofy misfits with no power. There are some goofy followers to be sure, but there are among the occultists a few who are genuinely in touch with the rulers of the darkness of this world. There are “spiritual forces of evil in the heavens”.

In spite of all that, Peter does not tell us we should be afraid. He warns us to be sober – to take the threat seriously, to keep our guard up. James says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” But first you have to know there is a devil and that you are facing him.

I usually don’t refer to Lonesome Dove, because, as near to the heart of Texans, adopted and native, as that mini-series is, I just dislike Larry McMurtry. I do respect, and appreciate his tremendous talent as a writer. Like him or not, though, he is such an artist that he cannot help but convey truth. The mythos of Lonesome Dove is undeniable.

Gus and July ride into the bad guys’ camp to rescue Lorie leaving the three members of July’s party behind. The incompetent adult male, a girl, and a young boy are brutally murdered by Blue Duck. They lack the awareness and the vigilance to avoid or thwart the attack. Actually, it’s a funny thing about Blue Duck, though he purports to be such a deadly and vicious adversary, he seems to be very good at avoiding direct conflict with Gus -- the one person who appears to be both capable and alert enough to give him any trouble. At the river, when he rides up on Gus and Lorie before the kidnapping, he is reluctant to start a fight. When Gus pursues him, Blue Duck tries to use his minions to kill Gus rather than confront him himself. When Gus rides into the camp, Blue Duck is gone, sneaking around to prey on the weaker and more vulnerable. You might think that, for all his big talk, Blue Duck fears the aging Ranger.

For his part, Gus clearly is not afraid of Blue Duck, but he also understands the renegade is a formidable opponent. He does not look for a fight until he is forced into one. He goes against Blue Duck, not on his own behalf but for the sake of the innocent and the weak. Blue Duck’s intention at any point is simply to do as much damage as he can without facing anyone who might be his equal in a fight. As such, Blue Duck is very much a type of the devil.

The Adversary is capable of doing great damage. He prefers to work in darkness and shadows, by stealth, subterfuge, and back-stabbing. He will never expose himself in open combat with a child of God if he can avoid it. He likes to attack us via proxies. If we fail to stand up to him, he will run over us. He will steal, kill, and destroy as long as we deny, avoid, and retreat.

We need to acknowledge that we are in a fight whether we want to be in one or not. There may have been times when this was not true, but those times are past – if, indeed, they ever existed. I tend to think we got to where we are by living in denial. Taking the adversary seriously means we are sober and vigilant toward him. Since he prefers shadows, we can shine the light on him and expose him. That alone will weaken him and cause him to back off.

As He pronounces the Great Commission, Jesus says, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” He then gives us the authority to carry out His will as His chosen and commissioned ambassadors. We have ALL THE AUTHORITY WE NEED to thwart the devil and his plans.

We need to stand firm in faith. Here’s how Peter finishes the 9th verse – “Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are being experienced by your brothers in the world.” Don’t freak out and think God has abandoned you because you are having trouble. Stand up to whatever comes. Plant your feet on the truth: This I know: God is for me (Psalm 56:9).

Recognize that the enemy is real, that he is effective, and that he knows what he is doing. He is smart, powerful, and utterly without mercy, decency, humility, shame or conscience, but he cannot defeat us if we stand up to him and face him down.