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It is I

This devotional thought is not meant for everybody, as a matter of fact is was really meant as a word of encouragement for me.  So if you are not going through any difficulties, if this year been just one blessing after another, if you can’t remember that last trial that drove you to your knees than this message might not resonate with you.  BUT if you have found yourself flat on your face holding onto more faith than facts, if uncertainty is your only certainty, if being led by God has lead you to what seems to be a dead end – then I want to speak to you for the next few moments on a topic I have entitled – It is I

The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.  Ps. 34:19

God does not promise that His people will not have trouble. He does not say that they will never be afflicted, but He promises to bring them out of all their afflictions. In some cases the deliverance may not be complete in this life. God did not keep those young Hebrew captives out of the fire, but  “the form of the fourth” was with them. He did not keep Daniel out of the lions’ den, but his angel delivered him there. He did not keep the apostle Paul out of the storm, but His angel was with him in the storm. Of the apostle Peter, bound with two chains in the innermost prison, it is written: “Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter.” (Acts 12:7)

It is indeed true that “upright people face many troubles” BUT the righteous cry, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their trouble (Ps. 34:17).  In observing Job’s poor state Eliphaz responses and says, in Job 5:7, People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire.  What a dark image of life on this earth, made darker by the fact that experience bears it out as true.  But there is something more to it than this. The old preacher, Dr. Edward Judson,  put it this way – “suffering and success go together. If you are succeeding without suffering, it is because others before you have suffered. If you are suffering without succeeding, it is that others after you may succeed.”

It was in the very midst of the storm when, to the disciples in the little boat , everything seemed lost, that Jesus appeared walking on the water and said, “It is I; be not afraid” (Matt. 14:27).

Charlotte Elliott, author of 150 hymns the most familiar of which is Just As I am without one plea, wrote in spite of being described as weak and feeble in body.  In her reflections of Matthew 14 she penned these lyrics found in our old hymnal Christ in Song (#700)…

When waves of trouble round me swell, 
My soul is not dismayed; 
I hear a voice I know full well, - 
Tis I; be not afraid. 

When black the threat'ning skies appear,
And storms my path invade,
Those accents tranquilize each fear,
"'Tis I; be not afraid."

There is a gulf that must be crossed;
Saviour, be near to aid!
Whisper, when my frail boat is tossed,
"'Tis I; be not afraid."

 

I encourage you today to claim these words of prayer by David, found in Psalm 40:13. Claim them for yourself and for your life circumstance, or for someone else in their time of need and deliverance.  The verse says – Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord makes haste to help me (Ps. 40:13) and take comfort that God will deliver, and that he will hurry to help.

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Are you an Almost Post-Christian?

The Barna Group faith and culture research organization has published its 2017 list of most post-Christian cities in America. Barna said that the “influence of Christianity in America is waning” and that the role of religion and church in public life is fading.

The group has tried to measure this change in American belief. It has created what it calls the “post-Christian metric” where individuals have to meet nine out of 16 criteria to qualify as post-Christian.

Barna feels that this set of metrics more accurately addresses the beliefs of respondents because it is based on actual practice as opposed to vague affiliation with a given faith. The organization claims that this form of measurement gives a clearer picture of belief versus unbelief.

Do not believe in God
Identify as atheist or agnostic
Disagree that faith is important in their lives
Have not prayed to God (in the last week)
Have never made a commitment to Jesus
Disagree the Bible is accurate
Have not donated money to a church (in the last year)
Have not attended a Christian church (in the last 6 months)
Agree that Jesus committed sins
Do not feel a responsibility to “share their faith”
Have not read the Bible (in the last week)
Have not volunteered at church (in the last week)
Have not attended Sunday / Sabbath school (in the last week)
Have not attended religious small group (in the last week)
Bible engagement scale: low (have not read the Bible in the past week and disagree strongly or somewhat that the Bible is accurate)
Not Born Again

 

– Full article

In reflecting on the survey’s “post-Christian metric” I have to ask the question: By our practices are we what would be considered a “Post Christian”? That would mean that we identified with 9 out of the 16 criteria, and 13 out of 16 would earn us a “highly post-Christian” qualification.

But  more important what does it mean for our Christian walk if we identify with 8, 7, or 6 of the criteria? How much fading can we live with and still be a “solid” Christian – 1, 2, 3? Or is being a “solid Christian” even expected? Is watered-down well enough?

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.  “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. – Matthew 16:24-25 NASB

I suspect, after reading the list and highlighting 8 of the criteria that I have seen many consistently struggling with in the church as regular members,  that there are a lot of us who would fit snugly in what I would term  “Almost Post-Christianity”.

Another point of reflection for my fellow pastors – are we running a “Almost Post-Christian Fellowship?

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What you don’t know…

What you don’t know can hurt you which is bad enough but when it comes to school curriculum it can scar your children. 

Kelsey Harkness recently reported on the brewing situation at a public charter school in Minnesota. Charters are public schools often created and run by a board of a coalition of local parents and community leaders. Everyone who attends has to choose to do so rather than be assigned to attend automatically through geographic attendance zones, like most public schools. They usually provide a safe haven for families looking for a sound alternative to traditional schools, which are on average of lower academic quality because they do not have to compete for students.

Saint Paul’s Nova Classical Academy is ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the top Minnesota high school. But it has been transformed into a rainbow Trojan horse after Dave and Hannah Edwards sued Nova for not including pro-transgender materials starting in kindergarten to accommodate their five-year-old son, whom they claim is transgender. Parents began transferring their kindergarteners out of the child’s class when they came home saying things like, “Mom, I think you can choose if you want to be a boy or a girl,” according to interviews with The Daily Signal.

The little boy began wearing a female uniform and accessories, and classes began to include pro-trans picture books endorsing gender fluidity. This month’s settlement after 16 months of litigation requires the school to make all uniforms available to both sexes, pay LGBT organizations to “train staff” in politically correct behavior every three years, and “not adopt any gender policy that allows parents to opt out of requirements in the gender inclusion policy because of objections based on religion or conscience.” This lawyer and Federalist contributor, after reviewing the settlement, said it appears to ban the school from even notifying parents of its sex policies.  – full article.

In a story shared on CBS NEWS on August 22 the prospect of scaring children left the realm of possibility and into reality as the sad story from a charter school was reported.

The Rocklin Academy school board is facing tough questions from parents concerned over a controversial incident involving transgender discussions inside a kindergarten class.

“These parents feel betrayed by the school district that they were not notified,” said Karen England with the Capitol Resource Institute.

The incident happened earlier this summer during the last few days of the academic school year.

At Monday night’s board meeting, the teacher at the center of the controversy spoke out. With emotions high, she addressed a packed house.

“I’m so proud of my students, it was never my intent to harm any students but to help them through a difficult situation,” she said.

The teacher defended her actions to read two children’s books about transgenderism including one titled “I am Jazz.” She says the books were given to her by a transgender child going through a transition.

“The kindergartners came home very confused, about whether or not you can pick your gender, whether or not they really were a boy or a girl,” said England.

Parents say besides the books, the transgender student at some point during class also changed clothes and was revealed as her true gender.

And many parents say they feel betrayed and blindsided. full article and video.

And what did the school board have to say in response to these scared students and betrayed parents?

The district says the books were age-appropriate and fell within their literature selection policy. Unlike sex education, the topics of gender identity don’t require prior parental notice.

In these two stories I observe a trend of overriding priorities that seem to be skewed toward the state and its agents in the education of our children above and in opposition to the parents of the children.  In the bible King Solomon the very embodiment of governmental authority, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit penned these words of instruction not to his agents but to parent…

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. – Proverbs 22:6

If the government is allowed to take that role of primary trainer, which is who they become when we as parents; (1) give our children to them for the majority of the week, (2) have limited to no say in what they are taught, (3) are either not interested, lack energy, and time to find out what happens at school, then we should not be surprised when the path they take in adulthood deviates from our own, for they are following the path of their primary trainer.  

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Noteworthy: 2017 – Week 29 – 33

Clippings from articles that I found noteworthy these past weeks:

What Twitter’s Reaction To Chris Pratt And Anna Faris’s Split Says About How We View Marriage – full article.

Seventh-day Gay Adventists Criticized by a Catholic Magazine. The Crisis Magazine, a Catholic publication, has called out the Seventh-day Gay Adventists documentary and its proponents for their lack of biblical fidelity. – full article.

Adventist Church Beginnings in Europe To Be a Video Series – “The Vision,” a 10 part docu-drama. – full article, first episode.

No tip for US waitress with LGBT tattoo.  “Can’t tip someone who doesn’t love Jesus! Bad tatoo [sic]” wrote the customer, instead of a tip, for Samantha Heaton, who bears rainbow-coloured equality bars on her arm, and has been serving at Buffalo Wild Wings for a year. – full article.

Adventist Church in North America responds to hate, violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Daniel Xisto, the pastor of the Charlottesville Seventh-day Adventist Church in Virginia, shared on Facebook in a commentary titled “I’m Not OK.” – full article.

Woman finds long-lost diamond ring on carrot in garden. A Canadian woman got an extra carrot with her diamond ring when it was found in her vegetable patch 13 years after she lost it.  – full article.

Sierra Leone mudslide: What, where and why?  On August 14 a mudslide killed hundreds on the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown. Here is what we know. – full article.

Barack Obama breaks record for most Twitter likes.  Anti-racism social media message quoting Nelson Mandela picks up three million likes in three days. – full article.

The Theology Debate That’s Dividing Christian Hip-Hop.  A more complex beef than usual.  –  full article.

Finally, There’s A Name For The Generation Between Gen X And Millennials. I’m honestly not sure why it took the world so long to discover that people like me exist, or that we’ve long been miscategorized as members of Gen X. – full article.

The ‘Prophets’ and ‘Apostles’ Leading the Quiet Revolution in American Religion. A Christian movement characterized by multi-level marketing, Pentecostal signs and wonders, and post-millennial optimism.  – full article. j

 

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Noteworthy: 2017 – Week 28

Clippings from articles that I found noteworthy this past week:

Thompson wins London 100m in trainers. Video of race below.  – full article.

Finally, There Is a $17,000 Fidget Spinner for the Discerning Fidget Spinner Aficionado. – full article.

Marco Rubio Hits Back after Politico Article Criticizes Him for Tweeting Bible Verses.  – full article.

Facebook’ Gated Boomtown Aims To Protect Wealthy Employees From Left’s Housing Policies. Facebook is building an exclusive company town for its employees, but it’s just responding to the incentives and obstacles local governments have created. – full article.

Tanzania and Uganda on fire with 117,000 baptisms. A major evangelistic thrust in Tanzania and Uganda has resulted in 117,000 baptisms, dramatically expanding a Seventh-day Adventist initiative to proclaim Jesus’ soon coming through Total Member Involvement evangelism.  – full article.

Will Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson actually run for president? ‘It’s a real possibility.’ It started off as a joke, then it became more serious. Now Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson says running for president in 2020 is “a real possibility.” – full article.

Psy’s “Gangnam Style” Loses Most-Watched YouTube Video Title. Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again,” featuring Charlie Puth, has taken over. – full article.

Amazon Prime Day: Consumers Win, Investors Really Win. The company’s “Black Friday in July” may seem like just another sale event, but it holds strategic importance and is a key driver of future growth.  – full article.

How Beyoncé’s Virgin Mary imagery challenges racist, religious and sexual stereotypes. Her re-appropriation of Virgin Mary iconography offers a biting critique.  – full article.

First object teleported to Earth’s orbit. Chinese researchers have teleported a photon from the Gobi desert to a satellite orbiting five hundred kilometers above the earth. – full article.

Oakwood University Choir Wins Choir of the World Title.  – full article.