Tuckered But Still Truckin'

And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. -- Judges 8:4

I’ve been there.  We are going the right direction, doing the things or thing we know we are supposed to do, yet we are so tired of pursuing.  I’m remind of that scene in the movie version of The Two Towers where, as the three friends track the orc raiders that have Merry and Pippin, Gimli remarks that for three days they have had no food, no rest, and no sign of their quarry.  Weary as we are, we are wearier of the pursuit, and would welcome a stand-up fight. 

Though they had passed over to the east side of the Jordan, Gideon and his men were not in enemy territory but in territory belonging to the tribe of Gad.  As they passed by the towns of Succoth and Penuel, they asked their brothers for help, not in the chase or the battle, but to sustain them with food and water.  The leaders refused, partly, perhaps, out of fear, since the final outcome of the conflict was not clear, and they did not want to raise the ire of the Midianites if Gideon were defeated.  But there is also a hint of disdain for Gideon.  He did not seem to be, in their minds, the right sort of man to be picked by God as a judge.  They might have thought if God wanted to liberate Israel He would have chosen from among them.

False brethren, as Paul calls them, can be more of a problem than an open enemy.  We can see that lived out in the political realm here in America with the Republican Establishment being dismissive of Tea Party candidates and supporters.  The GOP-e was happy enough to benefit from Tea Party fervor in 2010 to retake the House, but in the depths of their dark souls, they are big government sympathizers. 

It is the same in the Church as a whole, and in any local body of believers.  Anyone who steps out to speak the truth and act in faith would do well to watch his or her back.  There is a good chance the thrust that brings you down will come from the pew behind you.  At church, at work, even in our own families and among our friends, we sometimes find ourselves the target of opposition based on jealousy, envy, or resentment.  Sometimes we wish we could execute a little payback, and running somebody through the briar patch in their drawers can sound a lot like justice. 

As much as I might enjoy it, it is not my job to get even, and I certainly can’t turn aside from the task at hand to teach a lesson to those who would hinder me.  I’ll leave it to the Lord and try to keep going until the work is done.  

It's easy for us to get discouraged and dismayed when the end is not in sight, and those who should be on our side turn away or work against us.  As the song says, that's when faith is really put to the test.  Don't give up.  And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9). 

Curing the Evil Conscience

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  – Hebrews 10:19-22

What is an evil conscience?  Is it one that calls that which is evil “good”, as we were talking about a couple of days ago?  When we come to Christ, we do get our perspective changed.  We begin to see our thoughts, words, and deeds from the Divine point of view.  We understand things we found acceptable before are offensive to God and ought to be offensive to us. 

In the context of this passage, the writer talks about drawing near to God.  In this case, what is meant by an evil conscience has more to do, I think, with keeping us at a distance.  As Christians, our conscience may accuse us to the point that we feel condemned and unworthy of having access to the Father. 

I don’t mean to treat repentance lightly, but sometimes enough is enough.  When it comes to being convicted with regard to a fault in our lives, we are to repent.  We do that by admitting to God that we are guilty and wrong.  Then it is done.  But what if we do it again?  We’re going to feel bad and need, again, to acknowledge our failure.  Yes, but what if I just can’t quit?  What I’m really doing, at that point, is acknowledging that I know something is wrong but I rather enjoy it and don’t want to quit so long as I suffer no serious consequences from it.   If I don’t want to quit, I won’t, and I shouldn’t call it repentance because I haven’t “changed my mind” – no metanoia. 

Regardless of that point, I still have access to the Father in Christ, even if my “evil” conscience tells me otherwise.   The ultimate cure for wanting to continue under the flesh’s control is intimacy with God.  God does not fix us at a distance then bring us in.  He brings us in to fix us. 

The cure for an accusing conscience is to recognize the finished work of Jesus as Savior.  That’s all that I have going for me, but it is more than enough.  The Blood of the Cross is the answer to that nagging doubt that I am good enough for God.  Alone I cannot be accepted.  In Christ I cannot be rejected.  The Cross brings me into communion with the Lord, and once I am there, He will [c]reate in me a clean heart …  and renew a right spirit within me (Psalm 51:10).

Right Might

And the LORD turned to him and said, Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you? -- Judges 6:14

We each have gifts, strengths and abilities as well as weaknesses.  None of us are perfect and complete alone, but neither are any of us completely helpless.  In order to accomplish anything, we must bring what we have to the task.  Instead of lamenting and regretting that we are not as talented, intelligent, strong, or courageous as someone else, we have to be willing to take on a challenge our way. 

If age has taught me anything and brought me any measure of wisdom, it is this:  there’s almost always more than one way to get something done.  I may not be able to do it the same way someone else does, but I may have a different strength or ability that can be brought to bear and accomplish the same ultimate goal. 

In fact, it is often the case with the Lord that He is able to make better use of our weaknesses than our strengths.   Gideon was clearly not a particularly brave and bold person.  This “might of yours” that God used to deliver Israel was, at least in part, Gideon’s lack of confidence in his own power and ability.  Facing an overwhelming task, Gideon knew that it was beyond anything he could do.  Gideon’s fleeces have been the fodder for many sermons about trusting and believing God.  Nevertheless, given the challenge he faced, Gideon was right in making certain that he really was hearing from the Lord. 

Our faults, flaws, and vulnerabilities can become our strength, as the Apostle Paul knew from very personal experience:

But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Weakness and lack of ability force us to rely solely on the Spirit and His power.  We used to quote the last part of Zechariah 4:6 a lot:  Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts, because we understood the futility of using the arm of the flesh or natural power to do what God has called us to do.  I fear that the Church has gained too much worldly wealth and power, too much political and cultural influence to live by that divine admonition these days.  

Yet, like Gideon, we are called to do what is impossible to the flesh, no matter how strong or wise or talented or brilliant we may be.  We are called to live a holy life in spite of the world, the flesh and the devil.  It is not just not easy.  It can't be done.  Christ alone was able to do it, and in Christ alone, humbly acknowledging our inability, we are able. 

This Is Monday

You have wearied the LORD with your words. But you say, How have we wearied him? By saying, Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them. Or by asking, Where is the God of justice?  --Malachi 2:17

This is one of those days when I don’t feel like doing anything.  I’ve always been lazy.  I always liked to play but not work.  These days even playing is sometimes too much trouble, although, if I had a good excuse to take off on the Enterprise this afternoon, I might rally enough for that.

What reminded me of Malachi was this case of things I do not need to know via Breitbart.  As you all know, I love animated movies, but I have not seen How to Train Your Dragon, and it had not been on my list of films I need to get.  It’s still not.  This is from the link Big Hollywood had to thewrap.com:

“When we were recording Craig Ferguson, I had written the line, ‘This is why I never got married,’ and he, as he often does, added it as an ad lib and he said, ‘Yup, Gobber is coming out of the closet,'” DeBlois said. “I think that's a really fun [and] daring move to put in. I love the idea that Gobber is Berk's resident gay.” 

I'm sure that DeBlois' attitude delighted the Lord.  How impressed God must be that children are being indoctrinated to find the "fun" in sodomy.  DeBlois would probably find a prison gang rape is just hilarious.  We’ll put aside for a moment the silliness of calling something “daring” that is celebrated on prime time television, not to mention the endless coverage of swishy Michael Sam kissing another swishy little homo.  

I wouldn’t have any problem with Ferguson saying what he did as a joke, even in an animated movie aimed at ‘tweeners and up.  Guys begin very early to ridicule and mock one another.  We ought to be able to ridicule people like Michael Sam because they are ridiculous and pathetic.  Having not seen the movie, I am going to guess, from the looks of the still of Gobber, that he is a comedic character.  To hint that this strong, tough-looking Viking has a touch of the effeminate as a comic twist could be funny, though I think "coming out of the closet" is kind of flat.  

What I find worthy of derision is this idea that homosexuals should be represented in movies, television, literature, politics, businesses, etc.  What about people who practice polygamy?  What about incest?  Isn't that in Game of Thrones? I think some cable television show has already featured a psychopathic murderer as the hero.  Let's see, we've had The Sopranos and Breaking Bad and God only knows what all else.  That's how you make interesting stories in some cases.  You don't just stick characters in to fill a quota. 

What I find loathsome is the attitude that homosexuality is somehow ennobling and better than NORMAL sexuality.  Homosexuality is just one strand in the rope that is being braided to hang us.  Everything that is normal, sensible, and especially moral and righteous is being attacked as bigoted and sick, while immorality, debauchery, ignorance, and deception are exalted.  A woman killing her baby is brave and righteous.  A married, stay-at-home mother is denounced as a traitor to feminism.  God forbid that parents should sacrifice to send their children to private and religious schools and reject the important socialization gained from going to a “diverse” public school where the girls can be raped on the bus and the boys appropriately feminized.   

Where is the God of justice?  He has this little thing called the laws of the harvest.  You reap what you sow.  You reap later than you sow.  You reap more than you sow.  Sow the wind; reap the whirlwind

All In God

For by [that is, by means of or in] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether  thrones or  dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created  through him and for him.  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. -- Colossians 1:16-17

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.  After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high -- Hebrews 1:3 (emphasis added)

I don’t know if we can fully grasp how much different the world is now from how things were before the Cross.  Teachers and preachers and Christianity in general have latched onto some statements in the New Testament that point to degeneration.  People are going to get worse.  The world is going downhill.  Evil is becoming more powerful.  God is going to have to come back and rapture us out before cleansing the earth as He did in the days of Noah. 

That is all true on one side.  I think those who choose to reject God and willingly sell themselves to the spirit of antichrist will get worse.  The division between the righteous and the rebellious will be greater as time goes on.  Evil will become ever more desperate and extreme its manifestations.  That’s because it is cornered and has its back to wall.  Evil is not exalting in triumph but thrashing and flailing in panic.  The battle can go on for a long, long time, yet both sides know, or could know how it is going to end.   

The coin has another side, however.  God is working in His children.  His kingdom is growing and expanding like dough rising as the effects of the leaven permeate it.  The Body is maturing into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.  It may not be a linear process.  There is growth followed by pruning.  I believe we are entering or have entered the stage where there is going to be some cutting back.  We may not like this phase very well, but as far wiser people than me have said, the Church is strengthened and renewed by persecution. 

God is working in His creation.  Panentheism, the concept that “all is in God”, is reflected in the statements highlighted above.  He is immanent as well as transcendent, His life percolating and permeating through all of the Cosmos and especially through us, seeing through our eyes, hearing through our ears, and, perhaps, at times, whether we know it or not, speaking with our lips.  This is the difference from the old world, the world that existed before the Cross – that which has passed away. 

This is that, Peter said at Pentecost, prophesied by Joel.  The Spirit is poured out upon all flesh, sons and daughters prophesying, seeing visions, dreaming dreams, even among those thought too lowly and too distant, there may be an anointing.  We are fully accessible to God because Christ has made “purification for sins”.  In Christ, we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him (Ephesians 3:12).  Our Father knows and understands our fears, our doubts, our troubled hearts.  We cannot deceive Him, but neither can we be separated from Him.  The cries of our hearts, even those that cannot be formed into words, are heard by Him and answered. 

If you get a chance in the next couple of days, read Ephesians chapter 2, especially beginning in verse 11 through the end of the chapter, with this awareness of the presence of God in your life and in all that is.