Being Light in a Dark Place

There isn’t any question that American culture has been transformed from a dominantly Judeo/Christian culture to a dominantly secular one. Biblical values and morals are not embraced by our society. We cannot win in the courts or at the ballot box that which has been lost in the court of public opinion. How we as Christians choose to respond to this is important for our witness for Christ.

 

Perhaps we should put into practice the strategy that has attracted people to Christianity for over two thousand years—authentic Christian living. We could argue, cajole and protest, but Jesus said “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you (Matthew 5:44).

 

A Barna Research study asked non-Christians whether they viewed the role of Christians in America as favorable or unfavorable. In 1996, 85% viewed Christians favorably. In 2008, just 12 years later, that approval rating dropped down to 15%! When respondents were asked to describe Christians in the later study adjectives like judgmental, hypocritical, close-minded, and insensitive were used. I understand that the words and actions of Christians may be misunderstood. But if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…well, you get the point.

 

The characteristics the world should see from our lives are listed in the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law (Galatians 5:22, 23).” No one ever turned someone away from Christ by offering to be a friend, by helping someone out, by being kind and good.

 

The apostle Paul gives us good advice for living in a non-Christian culture. He wrote “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one(Colossians 4:2-6).

 

There’s the strategy for reaching others for Christ in a secular culture: pray, live wisely towards others, speak to encourage and edify and be ready to share the truth of the gospel when asked. It worked in the totally pagan society of the first century! Jesus Christ said “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).” So let it shine for your family, your friends, your neighbors and your co-workers. Let's not be intimidated, let's shine!

Eureka! Evolution! Well…?

An announcement was made recently by the University of Minnesota with the following headline: “First Artificial Enzyme Created by Evolution in a Test Tube.”[1] Do you see something wrong with that headline? Read it again, I’ll give you a minute. OK, here’s the rub as Shakespeare would say. If the enzyme is “Artificial” (made by human beings rather than being found in nature) and if it was “Created” (caused to exist by means of a designer/creator), then it certainly did not evolve on its own!

The U. of M. announcement states that Burckhard Seelig and a team at the university used “directed evolution” to create a new functional enzyme. The article states that there is a new biochemical structure that may resemble what enzymes looked like billions of years ago back in the “Land that Time Forgot.” The study further declares that directed evolution should be distinguished from rational evolution. Rational evolution suggests a preconceived plan, but directed evolution is very different (so they say).

Rational enzyme design begins with a preconceived idea of what the new enzyme should look like and how it should work. But directed evolution involves producing a large number of candidate proteins and then screening a number of generations to produce one with the desired function. Wait…all this thinking is making me sweat. Let me take off my lab coat and think this through for a minute.

Have you got your thinking cap on? OK: proteins were “screened” to “produce” one with a “desired function.” Isn’t screening something to produce a desired function a rational design? I know, I only have a B.S. in Theatre/Speech and another degree in Theology, but the U. of M, study wants us to think that this enzyme came into existence by neo-Darwinian evolution—and me thinks not!

The article goes on to say, “To my knowledge, our enzyme is the only entirely artificial enzyme created in a test tube by simply following the principles of natural selection and evolution." Give me a break! This is not “natural selection and evolution. This is artificial selection—a form of intelligent design; the same type of intelligent design that one uses when making different varieties of roses, dogs, apples or any other type of organism for a “desired function.” It really doesn’t matter (I don’t think; I could be wrong) whether you create a random pool of organisms to choose from or you follow a planned design of steps: “selection” by a scientist’s “mind” is intelligent design. Am I wrong? If the scientists were really allowing the principles of natural selection and evolution to work they would have cast the biochemical matter out into the world, gone out for pizza and let nature do its work.

The U. of M team leader, Seelig, said of his work “It’s kind of like giving typewriters to monkeys. One monkey and one typewriter won’t produce anything clever. But if you have enough monkeys and typewriters, eventually one of them will write ‘to be or not to be’.” Oh, I see. I wonder if that’s how the “Curious George” series of books came to be? Actually, I read somewhere that when monkeys were given typewriters they urinated on the key boards and broke the machines. Besides that, his analogy is very misleading. Seelig began with a desired result; the monkeys don’t care what they write.

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[1] www1.umn.edu/news/news-release/201

Observing Lent

In the Roman Catholic Church and in many other Christian traditions this past February 13^th began a season known as Lent. The forty day season of Lent is a time of fasting, prayer and penitence until the day before Easter (or as I prefer calling it, Resurrection Sunday) on  March 30^th. The word “Lent” comes from an Old English word “Lencten” meaning spring.

Usually people are encouraged to give something up, to fast in some way as a spiritual discipline; a little spiritual spring cleaning, if you will. I remember when I was growing up that Lent was a time for me to perhaps give up candy or to stop teasing my sisters. There is nothing commanded in the Bible about observing Lent. Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was a one-time sacrifice for all sins, perfecting forever those who believe. Hebrews 10:12-14 declares. “But this Man [Jesus], after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”

There is no work that we can do to make us acceptable to God. Christ has done that work. Scripture declares that God has “made us accepted in the Beloved,” Jesus Christ. Still, there is a place for spiritual disciplines; training ourselves to think and live righteously (1 Timothy 4:7-9). And it would be good to prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate the great victory of Jesus Christ’s resurrection.

Skipping a meal or part of a meal to spend time in prayer is a good thing. Foregoing buying that new item to save money to give as an offering is a good thing. Turning off the television to read the Bible together as a family is a good thing. Making a personal sacrifice or doing an act of service or praying for someone out of love for God and Christ is a beautiful and noble thing to do.

Here are some suggestions on what you can do for your mind, body and spirit in these days leading up to Resurrection Sunday.

MIND: Scripture says “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2).” Perhaps out of love for the Lord and for your own good, turn off the TV or computer or put down that book or magazine. Instead read the Bible or a good Christian book or spend time in prayer for family and friends. Make a commitment to worship with the family of God on Sunday.

BODY: The Bible states, “do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20). Perhaps out of love for the Lord and your own good you could put down that can of soda, eat right, exercise a little, stop staying up so late or perhaps stop the self-glorification of your body. Take the time you use at the gym to admire your physique and find ways to serve other people.

SPIRIT: The Word of God reveals that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22, 23).” Perhaps out of love for the Lord and your own good you will reach out to heal that broken relationship or share the gospel with someone or be more patient and helpful with someone or find ways to put more joy and kindness into the lives of the people you love.

I once was told that if I spent three months in the Word of God rather than watching TV or reading or playing sports I would transform my life. It worked for me. Why not invest some time before Resurrection Sunday preparing yourself for what really matters?

Adorning the Gospel at Work

Work dominates our lives. If you have a job or a business then you spend more of your waking hours in the work place than anywhere else. And you can be a good witness for Christ in that environment. The apostle Paul tells us how in his letter to an associate named Titus. The Scripture reads:

Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things (Titus 2:9, 10).

In the time of Paul and Titus the work force was composed of “bondservants” or slaves. Some people became bondservants voluntarily others involuntarily. But many held high-ranking positions in their master’s household. The bondservants Paul was concerned about were Christians. In our world today the words “bondservants” and “masters” could be interchanged for employee and employer. I know that sometimes employees can feel like slaves, but I’ll leave that for another blog!

But Paul’s exhortation to Titus presents us with five bullet points on being an effective witness for Christ where you work.

      1. “be obedient to their masters in everything” – Do the job you were hired to do and strive to be the best at what you do. Engage in every project willingly even if your boss is difficult to work for. If you are the boss, remember that you have a Master too. Scripture says. “Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven (Colossians 4:1).

   2. “be well pleasing in all things” – Be agreeable. This doesn’t mean you have to be a doormat. But be timely in all that you do, be professional. Put in a little extra effort that others will notice.

   3. “not answering back” – R-E-S-P-E-C-T, that is what this means. Contribute your ideas with a positive constructive tone. Do not undermine the values of your product or service. Don’t undercut the reputation of management. If there is a problem, deal with it in a respectful manner.

   4. “not pilfering” – Put in a full day’s work for a full day’s pay. Don’t steal from your employer. Make sure that other workers who have helped you are rewarded when you are.

     5. “showing all good fidelity” – Be loyal, faithful and steadfast. Keep your word. Prove that you can be trusted.

Incorporating these five points in your work will enable you to “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. In other words you will make the Christian life and the Christian good news about salvation in Christ attractive to those with whom you work. As Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).”

Oh, and one more thing. Once you have the attention of your fellow workers and your employer, pray and find the right moment to actually share the Word of God.

Best Super Bowl Ad

The Super Bowl was exciting as expected, power loss and all. The advertisements were good too—sexy, fun, quirky. But the best ad was by Dodge for their Ram truck. There wasn’t much said about the truck, but there was something said about the kind of people who might buy the truck; the kind of people most of us really want to be—good, honest, God-fearing, hardworking and loving. The ad was a smash hit. The words were written a long time ago by radio personality Paul Harvey from Chicago. The full script by Paul Harvey is below in quotes, followed by the commercial. Let’s strive to be the kind of people the farmer in the story represents.

“And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said I need a caretaker- So God made a Farmer. God said I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk the cows, work all day in the field, milk cows again, eat supper then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board – So God made a Farmer.

I need somebody with arms strong enough to wrestle a calf and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild; somebody to call hogs, tame cantankerous machinery, come home hungry, have to await lunch until his wife's done feeding visiting ladies, then tell the ladies to be sure and come back real soon, and mean it - So God made a Farmer.

God said I need somebody willing to sit up all night with and newborn colt, and watch it die, then dry his eyes and say maybe next year. I need somebody who can shape an axe handle from a persimmon sprout, shoe a horse with a hunk of car tire, who can make a harness out of hay wire, feed sacks and shoe straps, who at planting time and harvest season will finish his forty hour week by Tuesday noon and then, paining from tractor back, will put in another 72 hours – So God made a Farmer.

God had to have somebody willing to ride the ruts at double speed to get the hay in ahead of the rain, and yet stop in midfield and race to help when he sees first smoke from a neighbor's place - So God made a Farmer.

God said I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bales, yet gentle enough to wean lambs and pigs and tend to pink combed pullets; who will stop his mower for an hour to splint the broken leg of a meadowlark.

It had to be somebody who’d plow deep and straight and not cut corners; somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed, and rake and disk and plow and plant and tie the fleece and strain the milk and replenish the self-feeder and a hard week’s work with a five-mile drive to church. Somebody who would bale a family together with the soft, strong bonds of sharing; who would laugh and then sigh, and then reply with smiling eyes when his son says he want to spend his life doing what dad does – So God made a Farmer.”

The link to the commercial is below.

http://youtu.be/AMpZ0TGjbWE