Catching A Tiger

Sure, he didn't win a major this year. And he lost a major when holding the 3rd round lead for the first time. But most people still suspected there was a big red "S" on Tiger Woods' chest. Turns out they were right about the color, wrong about the letter--it was a scarlet "A" he was hiding. I suppose it is inevitable with just about every superstar athlete, I mean that they cheat. If it's not steroids, corked bats, illegal swimsuits, or horseshoes in their boxing gloves, we can pretty much count on guys like Tiger, who no doubt have legions of women literally throwing themselves at them, to succumb to the temptation to go outside the rules of marriage while pretending to honor it.

I know people will say one thing has nothing to do with the other, but I hope not to see anymore commercials with Tiger as spokesman/image for anything, other than perhaps a marriage/family counseling service. Sure, it was his amazing ability to put that little white ball where he wanted to when he whacked it with his sticks that made his name synonymous with "winner," and motivated all those companies to pay him megabucks so their product would also be assumed to deserve the same label. But nobody really deserves to be paid that kind of money by pretending to really rather have a Buick, and like it or not, when you are a role model with the kind of blemish Tiger now has, well, you're not much of a role model anymore.

Yeah, I know Tiger shouldn't be penalized for finally showing he's as human as the rest of us who have "transgressed" (His word), but he made his, I guess it must be billions by now, by allowing us to go along believing that he was something special. Truth is, there has only been one human being who ever really deserved to be called "special," and he lived a long time ago, and, to my knowledge, never struck a golf ball, hit a baseball, threw a football, dunked a basketball, kicked a soccer ball, slapped a hockey puck, sang a chart topper, or starred in a Hollywood blockbuster.

He was special because, among so many reasons that I couldn't begin to list them all, he is the only human being to never ever "transgress." Like you and me in every respect, except that he was without sin (See Hebrews 4.15), no one ever asked Jesus to be the spokesperson for their product, other than God, who chose his Son to promote his kingdom. And instead of receiving a king's ransom for his work on behalf of the kingdom of God, Jesus signed on as Savior knowing a cross would be all he would be paid for his work.

It will never happen, but this is what I'd like to see happen with Tiger. He and his wife hold a press conference. She is the first one to speak, and simply says "I have forgiven my husband." Tiger then steps up to the mike and announces, "Effectively immediately I am retiring from the Tour, and giving up all my endorsements. From now on the only work I will do is to show my wife how much I appreciate the forgiveness she has given me, though I don't deserve it, and can never pay her back even with all my riches. My wife and children are much more important to me than money and tournament wins. I apologize right here to my wife and family, to my colleagues on the Tour, to my sponsors and business partners, to my fans, and most of all to God. I thought I didn't have to play by His rules. I was wrong."

WDJD? III

Not long after receiving the sign of the covenant (circumcision) Jesus was brought to the Temple in Jerusalem by Joseph and Mary. And there, though it was a passive act, Christ rewarded two particular people who had for years patiently and faithfully awaited the coming of the Messiah, Simeon and Anna.

For Simeon the revelation of Jesus as a light to the Gentiles, and the glory of Israel (Luke 2.32) was the fulfillment of a promise made to him by the Holy Spirit. (2.26) The promise had supplied hope and strength to the aged one, knowing that death would not come for him before he saw the Savior.

For her part, Anna had prayed and fasted in the temple night and day for many years (Lke 2.37). A prophetess, Anna too knew that the child in Mary's arms was the One Israel had been long for for a thousand years, and she offered great thanks to God that Israel's long wait for its Messiah was over, and redemption was drawing close.

Jesus has not stopped fulfilling the promises of God's Word to men and women, the young and the old, Gentile and Jew. What He did, He still does. Those who believe in Him still depart this life in peace, like Simeon. Like Anna, all who know Jesus give thanks to God and and speak to others of His redemption.

WDJD? II

After Jesus was born a helpless little baby, just like you and me, which, as we said in WDJD I, was essential for our salvation, the next thing He did, according to the Luke 2.21, was receive the sign of the Abrahamic covenant, circumcision. Again, we have a definite sign of the reality of the Incarnation, of God taking on our flesh and blood, as, for the first, but not the last, time, the innocent flesh of Jesus was cut, and the first precious drops of His blood were shed.

Jesus was, as His circumcision served to confirm, a Jew, a child of the covenant God had made with Abraham. In point of fact, had Jesus not been circumcised He could not have been the "seed" ("offspring") of Abraham through whom all the nations of the earth would one day be blessed. (See Genesis 12.3; 15.1-6;; 17.1-14) With His circumcision the Lord also received the name the Angel had told both Mary (Luke 1.31) and Joseph (Matthew 1.21) they were to give the child conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb, "Jesus" ("God Saves").

It might not seem such a big deal to any of us. Most of us received our names shortly after birth with little attendant fanfare. But, as the song says about Jesus, "there's something about that name," an incredible divine something. Inheriting a name far superior to the angels (Hebrews 1.4), the child was immediately both the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Revelation 19.16), though His majesty was concealed in the form of a baby.

Ultimately, the whole world will acknowledge and praise this name on the day when every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. While a rose by any other name may smell as sweet, a savior by any other name than Jesus is no Savior at all, for truly, there is no name given under heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4.12).

What Did Jesus Do? (WDJD?) I

I won't presume to say that we'll ever get close to commenting here on all that Jesus did, after all John correctly observed that the world isn't big enough to hold all the books that would be necessary to write down all that thing that Jesus did. (John 21.25) So I am going to limit myself mostly to the things that Jesus did that are written down in the Bible.

The first thing that Jesus did was come into the world the same way all of us do--He was born. Doesn't sound at all singular or spectacular, does it? But, were it not for Jesus being born one of us like all of us, well we would all still be in a world of hurt, which is not to say that we aren't in a world that's still hurting. Now, none of us get any credit for being born. But we all received an incredible gift when Jesus was born. The angel who announced "good news of great joy" to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem spoke volumes when he said "unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior..." A Savior, the Savior, born like all of us? What's that all about? Shouldn't a divine Savior just appear, descending in glory from heaven? Well, yes, but that will be the next time He comes. It was absolutely critical that when He came the first time that he be born like you and me because to accomplish the work of Savior He had to be just like you and me, He had to be fully human. And, with the exception of Adam and Eve, being fully human means being born of a woman.

Why was it necessary that the Savior be fully human? Because He didn't come to atone for the sins of beasts, birds, or bugs; He came to bear in his completely human body the penalty for every single human sin that would ever be committed. You see, there had been a system in place for a thousand years that sought to deal with human sins by shedding the blood of animals. But no matter how much animal blood was shed on the altar it was never enough to pay the full price for all our sins. While God commanded that the blood of animals substitute for our blood as propitiation for sin, God always knew that the old sacrificial system wasn't enough, there would be a day when His own Son would be born of woman to shed His blood as the one sufficient sacrifice for all humanity's sins. And Christ's sacrifice was sufficient because He was as human as you and I.

Of course, it was necessary that the Savior be fully divine as well. Anything, anyone, less and, well it would just be the blood of a sinner like you and me, and the blood of a sinner has never been pure enough to suffice as a sacrifice for another sinner. When we're talking about substitutionary atonement, we are talking about a sacrifice that is pure, without sin, spot, or taint of any kind. And no man or woman ever born before or after Jesus could supply blood so pure. Jesus, fully human and fully divine, alone provided what was necessary for our sins to be forgiven. Jesus was man dying for man's sins, and He was God dying for man's sins. Anything less and we would still be looking for a Savior.

I know most people are quite thankful that Christ was willing to die for us, but as Christmas approaches, it might be a perfect time to give thanks that Jesus was willing to be born just like us, just for us. There will no doubt be a lot of gifts under a lot of Christmas trees this year. But the One gift we all need to celebrate each and every day is the gift of Christ's birth. If Jesus hadn't done that, nothing else He did would have ultimately mattered.

We Need To Be Definitely Personal About Jesus

A pastor friend, whose initials are not KD, but who has achieved a certain amount of fame, or infamy, depending on your worldview, employing those letters to post his observations on faith, politics, and the foibles of, well pretty much everyone including himself, has said about Jesus that it's rather poor form to claim Him as yours when you don't know Him. And, because, I have a mind that often takes a peculiar turn, and spends far too much mental effort contemplating the significance of the insignificant, I have been thinking a lot about personal possessive pronouns and their use in sentences that also contain the name of the Lord.

Personal possessive pronouns are words like my, mine, yours, ours, his, hers, and their. Think of the song "Shout to the Lord," My Jesus, my Savior... The only folks who get to use personal possessive pronouns when talking about Jesus are people who belong to Him. When Jesus has come and sought you out and made you one of His, well you get to call Him your Savior. If He is not your Savior, well you don't get to call Him yours, and, obviously, you aren't saved because no one gets saved except by Him. I'm sure I've made myself absolutely unclear, so I'll go on.

In addition to pronouns there is another part of speech called the definite article. The definite article separates a person, object, idea from a group and identifies it over and above all others. There are lots of songs in the world, but the song I quoted was "Shout to the Lord." Notice, it isn't "Shout to a Lord," but "the" Lord. Always and forever, when it comes to Jesus, he is The Lord, whether you want to acknowledge Him as such or not.

But when I get to talking about salvation, well I want to be more than definite, I want to get personal, because, well, salvation is personal. No one is saved as part of a group. There is no class-action suit that can get you into heaven. Either Jesus is your Savior, and you're good to go, or He's not and you're not.

More confused, and wondering why I'm writing this? Well, when I'm talking with others about Jesus, or when I'm praying aloud in a group, I always try to make sure folks understanding that Jesus is definitely the Lord, the one and only. But I also want to make sure that as far as being Savior, well, that's personal, and I want people to hear the difference between being definite about His Lordship, and secure in the personal knowledge of Him as Savior. So, I try while I always try to identify Him as the Lord, I also try to always say He is my or our Savior, because while Lord of all, the truth is Jesus only saves some.

By no means am I suggesting that there is any other way of salvation, it's Jesus or nothing. But, and this is all about the sovereign will of God, not all will be saved, because not all are willing to personally receive Jesus and His gift of salvation. So, what's the sum of all this? When it comes to Jesus, we definitely need to get personally possessive.

The One Free Offer You Can't Afford to Refuse

I wore my NY Football Giants cap and sweatshirt to the grocery store the other day. ("Football" used to be necessary to distinguish the team that ran and passed the pigskin from the baseball team that used to play in the Polo Grounds) It actually takes some courage to go out dressed like that in the heart of Carolina Panthers territory, to say nothing of going public about my support for a team that has played so poorly over the past month that the NJ meadowlands smell bad enough to be offensive all the way down here in the Blue Ridge. When I got to the check out the young man took one look at me and--smiled! "Hey, you're a Giants fan" he called out. Only since a guy named Y.A. was completing passes to Kathy Lee's future husband.

The checkout clerk enthusiastically informed me he will be going to see the Giants play in person on December 27 at Giants Stadium, having won five free tickets to the season's finale (And considering the Giant's playoff chances, I do mean finale). The only problem the clerk had was affording his "free" game. It seems that while the tickets are free, he has to fly himself and his four guests from North Carolina to New Jersey, and that's not cheap. It wasn't the first time I had heard about a free offer that cost a lot to accept. Sitting in a drawer somewhere in my house is a letter describing a host of "free" vacations I could be eligible for. But, in fine print that I used to be able to read, but now struggle to decipher even with magnification, each one of the seven vacation choices details little things like "processing fees," ""taxes," and "port fees," that make the free vacations anything but free. In fact, they are so expensive I don't think I can afford to accept any of the "free" offers.

I reflected to the checkout clerk and the woman standing next to me in line that the only really free offer I knew of was salvation. And salvation really isn't free, it's just that Jesus has already paid the price for us, in full. There are no surprise costs, or fees hidden in some fine print in the Bible. Jesus has personally taken care of everything necessary for us to be saved. To which the woman responded, "Praise God!" Salvation really is the one free offer we can't afford to refuse.

Neither Terrorism or Vengeance Are Options for Us

The latest act of domestic terrorism last week at Ft. Hood, Texas had a distinctly international-jihadist look to it. And no few people, myself included, wondered if there just might be a connection between the religion of the gunman and his savage act. Well, I don't want to be unfair, or worse misrepresent the Gospel. And, in the interest of fairness, I need to say that Islam does not hold exclusive rights to violent extremism. Christians, or at least some who claim that title, also go off and commit heinous crimes. Like fundamentalists and radical pro-lifers who shoot doctors or blow-up abortion clinics to stop the killing of unborn babies. Sorry, but that's just as wrong as what happened at Ft. Hood, in fact in my eyes even more wrong because it's supposedly done in the name of Jesus. While Allah may be pleased with the shedding of infidel blood, and followers of Mohammad may believe they are purchasing passage to paradise by flying a commercial airliner into the World Trade Towers, no Christian does the will of God when motivated by blind hate or rage.

While I have a decidedly conservative and biblical worldview, it would be an offense to my Lord and a defamation of his Gospel to preach death to Muslims because their religion is false. While I know that same-sex "marriage" is clearly and consistently condemned and forbidden by the Word of God, I also know that it is also a sin to treat anyone who is in bondage to that life with any less compassion, love, and respect than I would my own family.

Oh, we need to be willing to take up arms, and to die if need be, to defend freedom. And we need to both promote and practice moral values rooted in the Bible and the life and person of Jesus Christ. But we had better not forget that forgiveness, grace, and mercy figure prominently in a life of discipleship.

Major Hasan should be tried for his crime, and when found guilty he should suffer the penalty for what he did. Such penalty could mean his execution. If so, it would not be an act of vengeance, but of justice. Mercy may intercede and spare his life. But only the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ can save his soul. I pray that before the day of his execution, should that day come, that the Major would come to know the Lord. Should that happen he might, with his last words, confess his guilt, yet claim the mercy of God by virtue of the blood of Jesus, and express a desire to live for his Savior while acknowledging that he willingly accepts the justice of his execution.

Who Is To Blame, Our Leaders or His Religion?

It was barely 24 hours after the massacre at Ft. Hood when some extreme members of the so-called mainstream media, which means they were really extreme, if you catch my drift, had completed their investigations of the terrible scene and concluded that the gunman wasn't to blame, the war in Afghanistan was. We should have expected a Muslim solider to go off the deep end when faced with orders to go and fight to liberate other Muslims from the grip of the (Muslim) Taliban. We should have known something like this was going to happen.

I mean, didn't German-American soldiers go berserk in Britain during WWII on the eve of D-day? Doesn't history record dozens of incidents of Japanese American Marines blowing up troop transports full of their comrades as they headed towards Iwo Jima? What could President Roosevelt have been thinking when he sent our troops to fight against the homes of their ancestors? He must have been crazy.

But, if we want to make sure that what happened in Texas last week wasn't the first of more and worse horrors on our military bases, as a "moderate" mainstream magazine warned in the wake of the one-man Jihad that rocked Ft. Hood, our leaders had better call an immediate end to all hostilities everywhere, bring our all our troops home, and strictly order our generals not to even dare to think about ever going and fighting anyone anywhere, it might upset some of our soldiers! Why, there would probably never be any cases of what used to be called "battle fatigue" when soldiers don't have to worry about fighting anymore. Of course, when we decide to eliminate any chance of conflict from ever stressing out anyone in our military we probably might just as well discharge all the troops and mothball all their equipment, they won't serve any real purpose anymore.

I expect, when all the digging into the life of the Muslim Major who decided he would rather wage war against American GIs than fight global terrorism is through, he will say he did it for his religion. Kind of like the folks who blow themselves up in Baghdad. He will say he was about to be forced to go fight against his fellow Islamists, and decided instead to do his fighting right here against Americans, rather than betray his religion. Why didn't he just refuse his orders? Why didn't he risk court-martial and whatever punishment that may have followed a conviction if he was so opposed to fighting? Well, there's nothing particularly terrifying about a court-martial, and not near enough blood to satisfy Islam.

You know, when Jesus died to glorify the Father, he didn't take out anyone with him. And when Christians were served up as snacks for the beasts in the arenas of Rome, the only blood shed for their faith was theirs. I suppose the gunman in Texas last week might have expected to die, but he obviously didn't make certain of it. All he made sure he did was kill unsuspecting and innocent people for the sake of his religion. I hope, whatever happens to him, he is not executed, he doesn't deserve to be a martyr. But, maybe, spending the rest of his life in Leavenworth, he may yet come to know the Lord. In fact I pray Jesus will visit his dreams every night for the rest of his life until he surrenders all his messed-up Muslim hatred to the love of the Lord.

Are You Ready To Feel Some Real Heat?

A pastor friend sent me an email with the following Youtube clip this 4-minute excerpt, which features a British expert on the subject of global warming. Let me tell you, this speaker is not a subscriber to the hysteria that we are about to go "greenhouse" and cook all life on the planet. But his warning about the proposed United Nations Climate Change Treaty is, if you will excuse the expression, chilling because if what he claims the treaty will do will definitely bring serious heat to bear against Christians and Americans.

What would you say about a treaty that would voluntarily make our Constitution submit to the authority of United Nations' edicts? What would you say about a treaty that would require the U.S., along with other nations, ship billions of dollars to third-world nations as a repayment for our alleged damage to the world's atmosphere by our "reckless" use of fossil fuels and other greenhouse gas emitting products? What would you say about a treaty that in effect creates a one-world government? Sounds almost Orwellian.

I confess that I have not read the draft of the treaty, which could be signed in about a month, when world leaders gather in Copenhagen. And there are reports that the treaty won't be signed this year, but perhaps in 6-12 months after politicians do some more work to hand over even more to the third-world. Don't get me wrong, it is absolutely immoral for us to exploit smaller developing nations for our own selfish purposes. But, with the case not yet made for global warming, it hardly seems right to give away our nation's sovereignty at this point, as if there ever would be a time to do such a thing before the Lord himself returns to rule over the earth for a thousand years.

Bottom line, check out that link up top, and maybe from there do some more looking into what this upcoming UN treaty is all about. And, as at all times, pray. The UN, and our own feckless leaders, may be able to schnooker us, but they are not about to fool the Creator, who knows everything there is to know about the climate which, ultimately, He controls.

Jesus As The "Boss"

Well, actually, He is The Boss, although most of the world refuses to acknowledge it, and most of us who do still don't live in a way that shows it. But I'm not talking about the boss of all things, I am talking about "The Boss," as in George--you know George Steinbrenner, the guy who owned the Yankees and drove them to a bunch of their now 27 World Series titles.

I know there are no few Yankee haters out there, and I will confess that most of the time I don't really care all that much whether they win or lose. And, further confession, I was pleased when the Bosox exorcised the Curse of the Bambino, and I was happy when the Palehose (White Sox) won it all a few years back (Though I would have preferred to see Ernie Banks' old team win a World Series). But, and this may well bug a lot of you Yankee haters, but the Yankees sitting on the MLB baseball throne is good for America. It sends a signal that, despite the health care reform circus, and the near hysteria over the potential threat of swine flu, and the way things are going down the toilet in Afghanistan, and the unemployed status of 10+ million Americans that all is right with the world. Listen, if God didn't think it was a good thing for the Yanks to win their first title since 2000 He would have seen to it that one of the other seven playoff teams was drenched in champagne last night.

I am sure that if Jesus ran the Yankees, as The Boss once did, and the Boss's sons now do to a somewhat lesser extent, He would pursue the crown as passionately as ol' George. So, what did Jesus do, not actually having the chance to play ball? Think about how Jesus went about assembling His team. He searched far and wide, and held serious high-level conferences with His Father, before drafting the twelve who would all become Hall of Famers (Well, one actually has a place in the Hall of Infamy). And, like George, Jesus was someone hard to say "No" to (Though the gospels record the story of a free agent who was so rich that he turned down Jesus' offer.). And, like the franchise in the Bronx, it took some time for the team to really gel. They all but folded in the Garden of Gesthemane when the season came down to its most crucial moments. There were clubhouse squabbles about who should be the franchise players (The mother of James and John lobbied hard for her boys to the captains of the team). And, when the roster was depleted because Judas had to go on the permanently disabled list, the team of apostles brought up a prospect from the farm, though their decision was a bit of a gamble.

In short, Jesus played to win, though His strategy confounded the experts, and, rather than a grand slam, it took a sacrifice to win it all. So, it wouldn't surprise me if, at least today, they're wearing pinstripes in Heaven. Will the New York victory impact the Heal Care debate in Washington? I doubt it. Nor will a Yankee victory help settle things down in Afghanistan. But, and this is just my opinion, I think the nation feels a little more confident, a little more sure of ourselves, when the team from the Bronx does what it's supposed to do. And, if nothing else, the Yankees having won this year will keep a lot of people alive for the next 12 months in the hopes of being around next year to see them lose.

As Maine Goes, So Goes......

The people of Maine, as with the people in 30 other states, have spoken. And the "Vox Populii" says, "Marriage is between a man and a woman." Overruling their state legislators, who last spring approved a bill, in turn signed by their governor, recognizing same-sex marriages, the people of Maine proved that while they may be noted as independent and free thinkers, they are not yet prepared to abandon traditional biblical morality.

Gay and Lesbian activists were crushed by this latest rebuke by the people, as opposed to more pliable courts and legislatures. To date no public referendum on gay-marriage has ever been approved by the electorate in any of the 31 states to have had such a question on their ballot. And, I those gay-lesbian couples and their sympathizers who say that their sexual orientation is a private matter, so how can voters try and force their morals upon them, I say, "Then keep it private, and stop trying to force your immoral position on the people. Stop initiating court cases and introducing legislation to win approval and recognition for something the majority of Americans clearly don't approve of."

None of this is to say that those with misguided sexual orientations should be persecuted or shunned. Jesus loves them just as much as He loves the rest of us sinners. And He hates all our sins equally, including the sin of not-loving and caring about those who are as much in need of grace and mercy as the rest of us. I mean, if adulterers were to try and legalize their sin I would oppose them too, but just think how empty many churches would be if they refused admission to adulterers (and liars, and tax cheats, and others who show off clean hands while trying to hide impure hearts, like Pharisees of old).

ANYthing Less Than EVERYthing Is Not Enough

John D. Rockefeller, the Bill Gates of his day, was once asked how much wealth was enough. The then richest man in the world did not hesitate to reply, "Just a little bit more than I have." It is hard to imagine how a fortune sufficient to last several lifetimes would not be enough for someone, but the truth is most of us know very little of contentment, regardless of our financial station in life. Deep inside the race is an avarice gene that pretty much guarantees that neither you nor I will be happy with ANYthing less than EVERYthing.

Consider our ancestors, Adam and Eve. They had executive privileges, as God's stewards over the whole earth, which gave them access to almost everything. In fact there was only one thing in the world they were denied; they had EVERYthing-1. But then, as now for most people, EVERYthing-1=Discontent, desire, GREED. We want it all!

We want new. But new loses its sparkle the instant we see newER. We want big. But big fails to impress us as soon as biggER hits the market. Fast is great until fastER comes along. Fancy is just fine for us as long as we don't encounter fanciER. ER, ER, ER, ER. Two of the most diabolical letters in the English language. While there are some definite advanatges to newER and biggER, there is no guarantee that newER+biggER=Better, and plenty of evidence to the contrary.

Don't get me wrong. I am glad that new surgical techniques made my recovery from the operation I had in July 2007 less painful and quicker than practices that had been state of the art just a few years earlier. And, though I think they might have been more reliable vehicles, I don't want to drive a Model T. And my wife is quite happy to have an automatic washing machine rather than the wringer washers our grandmothers used.

But, for those of you who have endured the many generations of Windows software, how much better is "7" than "98"? (Which is not meant to be an advertisement for Macs) Is a 2010 Mustang ten-fifteen times better a vehicle than my 1972 Mustang was, that it has to cost ten-fifteen times more? Though the color TV screen I watch the World Series on is huge compared to the black and white 17" model I used to have, I can't say that it really adds anything to my enjoyment of the contest, but there in the living room sits the modern behemoth. Of course, our economic system has been fueled by exploitation of most every consumer's greed button.

And, to keep that system going and growing we have witnessed the rise of the huge runaway credit industry which lets us push that greed button today, and pay for our pleasure for years and years to come. Of course, loud lamentations are heard throughout the land as we now cry out in pain from the collapse of the whole mess. Cars repossessed. Homes foreclosed. Businesses bankrupt. 10+ million unemployed. And still the allure of newER, biggER, fastER, fanciER tempts us with more and more in pursuit of the ever discontent consumerist lifestyle.

You know what Jesus did about all this? He came bearing a gift for all who would receive it--Life. Life full and abundant, overflowing with purpose and meaning, and contentment as well, with the desires of our heart all met in our delight in knowing Him. Funny, if we would just realize that Christ IS All, well we wouldn't have to settle for anything less than everything, because everything is fulfilled in Jesus.

Good News From Ford, But Was It A Better Idea?

Well, they may not have had a better idea at Ford, but something's been working better for the folks from Dearborn than their pals at GM and Chrysler. Analysts were stunned by Ford's third quarter profits report. It seems while the other U.S. automakers were filing for bankruptcy and begging for government bailouts, Ford was determined to do what it could to right its own ship. Oh, they took full advantage of the "Cash for Clunkers" program, which certainly fueled their third quarter sales. But profits were also boosted by cost cutting layoffs, certainly not good news for those who now find themselves unemployed. And in the long-term it remains to be seen how Ford will make out in negotiations with its union workers, who will likely balk at management attempts to reduce both workforce and labor costs by freezing or cutting benefits.

And, in an economy that is far from robust, with no end in sight for alarmingly high unemployment, it remains to be seen how well Ford will do in sustaining sales without adjusting the prices of its products. Cash for Clunkers effectively served as a $4500 price rollback, for much of the third quarter. But how is the year going to finish out without that artificial sales incentive? Third quarter profits may well be followed by dismal fourth quarter performance. For may be in a better position for now than its main U.S. competitors, gaining a bigger share of a shrinking auto market in the short term. But there are still a lot of unemployed and financially strapped folks who have not driven a Ford lately, and will not be likely to anytime soon.

So, while I congratulate For on its third quarter, without the "Cash for Clunkers" crutch, which wasn't Ford's idea, I wonder what better ideas we will see from Dearborn that will truly turn things around for Ford, for Ford workers, and for Ford customers. Because, regardless of what the reports from headquarters said, the local Ford dealer went out of business here just a few weeks after the government's gimmick program, so at least in that case corporate profits did not translate into local business. And given the economic realities of this area, no one is likely to reopen that business anytime soon. What is more liable to happen is that other dealers will be closing their doors. So, at least in this case, we're still looking for a better idea that works for folks across America, as opposed to in America's boardrooms.

Jesus told a parable about a rather dishonest manager who, facing the loss of his job, shrewdly negotiated debt-reduction agreements with enough folks to convince his master to keep him. (Luke 16:1-13) The lesson was not intended to encourage dishonesty, but suggests to me the wisdom of forgiveness, how it can both foster loyalty, and be more profitable in the long run than the relentless pursuit of unfair profit. This is not to say that the management at Ford, or GM or Chrysler, is dishonest. But businesses voluntarily lowering the costs of goods and services, and reducing and forgiving debts, might be a better solution to our economic woes, than the heedless and unbridled pursuit of bigger and bigger profits for fewer and fewer Americans.

Uncle Sam Wants You---Dead

Recruiting posters used to tell young men, "Uncle Sam Wants You" with the undertext directing enlistees to the appropriate armed services recruiting office. I fear that if some lawmakers in Washington have their way and new poster will be circulated in line with articles in the Health Care Reform Bill telling the elderly and infirm, "Uncle Sam Wants You---Dead," for ending one's life will be viewed as a selfless and patriotic thing to do.

The AP reported on Thursday that the latest House version of the Health Care Reform Bill retains provisions to permit Medicare to pay for services aimed at helping patients depart from this life by their own decision, and with the assistance of medical personnel. Obviously, someone has argued that it is really expensive to have to keep all these old and sick people alive, and those folks aren't really enjoying life anyway, so why don't we help them and cut medical costs?

I wonder what will be the most cost-effective life-ending measures Medicare will approve? A nurse holding a pillow over a patient's face until he smothers? Maybe injecting an air embolism into a lonely and bedridden widow's veins? After all, if the objective is to dispatch people as quickly and cheaply as possible, we don't want to go high tech.

Excuse me, I was just wondering, does any one else see the government's venturing into the euthanasia business as disturbing as I do? It's bad enough that our government has already sanctioned the murdering of millions of unborn babies, now it wants to give its stamp of approval to what amounts to exterminating the old and infirm. Sure, there will be provisions for patient and/or family consent, but what about the poor person who is no longer competent to make decisions for themselves, and has no family? Being the ward of a state that wants to terminate your life as quickly and cheaply as possible isn't that far removed from being herded into a gas chamber because your government has determined that you are an undesirable.

I realize that a faith argument is useless when trying to convince the government it is about to tragically err, but do our leaders really want to make this nation the target of God's wrath? God counts the life of every one of his children as precious, don't you think he might hold someone accountable for the murders of thousands in the name of "mercy?"

Any health care reform bill coming out of Congress in the near future is all but guaranteed to violate a physician's first rule, "Do no harm!" I see nothing but hurt resulting from our legislator's bungling attempts to correct a system government interference has only made worse.

Jesus said he came that we might have life, abundant life. (John 10.10) He argued consistently that it was always better to do good rather than harm, to give life rather than to kill. But when our President has proclaimed that we are no longer a Christian nation, why should I expect that what Jesus said and did would influence lawmakers in D.C.?

Did You Just Hear Something Go "CLUNK"?

I was awakened this morning by the sound of one of my wife's flower vases falling and smashing on the tile floor of the bathroom. Just a couple hours later I heard a much louder crash, actually more of a "clunk," as a new report came out assigning a shocking price tag to the automobiles sold this summer in the governments misguided "Cash for Clunkers" program. Yesterday I dismissed that program as a gimmick at best, and now it appears it was far worse than a gimmick, it was another costly blunder by a government determined to get its hands all over, well pretty much everything.

You remember the come-ons from summer, don't you. Bring in your "clunker" and we'll give you up to $4500 in government money for it towards your purchase of a new car. Unfortunately, with the dust settled, and the opportunity to examine the numbers, it turns out that the net cost to taxpayers per new car purchase in the Cash for Clunkers program was a littler higher than $4500--try $24,000. Ouch! That means your $15,000 Hyundai really cost almost $40K. Why for that kind of money you could have bought yourself a Ford Taurus. But, and here's some bitter irony, most of the clunkers that were traded in actually went towards the purchase of those Hyundais and other foreign cars. So, like so many American jobs, most of the Cash for Clunkers cash headed overseas. The clunks keep getting louder.

And they won't be stopping anytime soon. Here's another big clunk for you. Another quarter of a million Americans filed for unemployment in September. Funny, I would have thought that would have been a loud enough crash to get someone's attention in Washington, but instead the word from D.C. is that the recession is over. Hmm. I think that for some reason those pronouncements of a recovery are not going to convince the 10+ million out of work Americans that happy days are here again.

The auto industry, tottering on the brink of complete collapse, needed to rebuild its foundation. The governments answer was to pull up with a truck full of sand and say, "Here you go, Detroit. Build on this." (Billions of bailout dollars and the awful Cash for Clunkers program) Jesus predicted what happens whenever you build on a poor foundation, the whole structure ends up collapsing (Matthew 7:24-27). Well, if Detroit keeps looking to Washington, and Washington continues to respond by delivering more sand, it won't be long before we will witness the complete and final fall of the American auto industry, and great will that fall be.

It's Not the First Time, So Why So Shocked and Surpirsed?

I must confess my ignorance. Until a short time ago I never knew there was an HBO program called "Curb Your Enthusiasm." And now that I have heard of the program I still don't know much about it, other than it apparently tries to pass off vulgarity and moronically outrageous material of the "shock-jock" genre as humor. Fortunately for them, there is no current shortage of vulgar morons out there who like to tune into their particular kind of garbage.

Spare me the appeals to constitutionally guaranteed free speech, I won't argue with anyone about it. Yes, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and other similar vulgarians, you have a constitutional right to be as immature, vulgar, stupid, and offensive as you want to be. Why you are compelled to so abuse the right to free speech, well let me just say that your to your sin nature is quite evident.

As for the indignities directed at the Lord and his Church, well, it's not the first time is it? And, it won't be the last, will it? Several years ago there was a silly depiction of the Lord's Supper featuring, if I recall correctly, a black woman as Christ. Ding-dongs and nutcases called it "art," but we know better. Then there was the beaker full of with a Crucifix immersed in it, so you see the outrageous stupidity of the knuckleheads at "Curb Your Enthusiasm" isn't even all that original garbage; not only are they stupid, they aren't even all that creatively stupid. I mean, if you are compelled to be world-class fools, at least try to do something new, can't you? Well what should we expect from minds stuck in the anal stage?

So, what are we supposed to do when offended by such outrageous vulgarity and abuse? Well, Jesus instructed us to "turn the other cheek" when struck, and I would suppose the same holds for being mocked, spat upon and worse. In case you might not recall, Jesus silently endured terrible beating and mocking at the hands of his captors during his Passion. When he finally responded he had this to say, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." If the Lord's example was to forgive those crazy or stupid enough to abuse, mock, and ultimately nail him to a cross, I suggest that we try and find a way to similarly forgive the crazy and stupid of our day. I would also suggest that, if you are an HBO subscriber, you call and cancel your subscription immediately. I don't pretend to suggest that you will cause "Curb Your Enthusiasm" or other similar trash to go off the air anytime soon, much less threaten HBO's security, there are, after all, plenty of people who are happy to spend money on this junk, but at least you will have cleaned some real smelly stuff out of your house. And couldn't we all do with being a little cleaner before God?

Out of Better Ideas

My wife called and left me bad news this morning in a voicemail--the local Ford dealer shut their doors for good suddenly yesterday. While I don't have one in the driveway right now, and more on why that is shortly, I have driven and owned ten Fords in the 39 years since I first got my driver's license. And for the last several years there has been a running joke in our house about the Mustang I am going to get one day. But Fords, along with pretty much every other American born and bred automobile, are on the endangered list. Plymouths, Oldsmobiles, and Pontiacs have already suffered extinction in recent years, and the number of once proud and iconic nameplates that will be relegated forever to history is very likely to grow until a generation or so from now children will ask, "Grandpa, what's a Ford (Or Chevy)?"

And, just like the sad end of the Passenger Pigeon, no one would have imagined such a thing was possible when America's driveways were lined with what Detroit turned out year after year. Time was when Ford could honestly claim that they were committed to "better ideas" in automotives, but those days appear gone forever. The truth is, one of the reasons I used to always have at least one, and often two, Fords in my garage, was that they were affordable and dependable transportation for me and my family. But, with a new Taurus now costing about 37K, the chances one will ever make it to my home are slim and none. If anybody at Ford headquarters wanted to even try to come up with a better idea for today, they would do well to look at what made Ford Motor Company such a success in the first place--affordable, simple, and reliable wheels for the average American.

I'm not saying it is time to bring back the Model T, but when a family sedan costs nearly 40 thousand, well it doesn't work for my family. And judging by the dismal sales of American car makers pretty much across the board, the products they are manufacturing don't work for many other families as well. Yeah, Cash for Clunkers moved some cars over the summer, but that was a gimmick, not a solution for what ails Detroit's automakers. And gimmicks, like zero interest financing and cash back haven't succeeded over the last ten years in turning around the terminal direction of Chrysler, Ford, and GM. A better idea is more than a gimmick, it has staying power and traction, if you will excuse the expression, that can turn things around for the long-term as opposed to simply impacting month-end sales or quarterly reports.

Nobody is likely to ever ask me what I would do, but since this is my blog I'll share with you what I'd do if I were running Ford. First, everyone with a seven-figure income would take a 50% pay cut immediately. Folks with six-figures coming in would say good-bye to 40%. And the people on assembly lines who are represented by their unions would have to face the choice of conceding to some reductions in pay or join the 10+ million other Americans who are now out of work. As Ford's CEO I would have to play hardball with all the companies who supply us. They'd have to drop their prices, or lose our business completely when we are forced to shut down and follow Oldsmobile, Plymouth, and Pontiac into extinction. With costs being cut we at Ford could then offer the American public something shocking, affordable cars and trucks! And I bet we'd start selling a lot more of them than we have in a long time.

And those cars and trucks we'd be selling, well they might not come in 30 different colors, but at least there would be a choice of something besides black (No offense, Henry). Affordability, along with emphasizing practicality, reliability, and safety, used to put a lot of Fords on the road. I don't know if it's possible that it could ever happen again. But why should Ford or GM even bother to try and come up with better ideas when the government is willing to bail out failure without any requisite improvement of performance?

Well, it was never likely that I would have ever seen that Mustang in my driveway anyway, so it won't hurt that much when, along with everyone else, I'll have to walk to a museum to see the sweet little "Pony Car."

Before anyone suggests that I have something against free-market economy, let me state that I'm not the one who has been destroying the free market. The truth is, the American free-market was shuttered a long time ago, replaced by the greed-market. And the most greedy got what they were after, obscene wealth for themselves, and unearned, unrealistic, and self-indulgent "prosperity" for many of the rest of us. And we stoked and rode the greed market as far as it could carry us all, until now it's coming crashing down on all of us. It's not like Jesus didn't warn us about greed; His Word tells us that the love of money results in a world of hurt (1Timothy 6.1), and so it has for our economy and nation.

Anyone have any better ideas?

Jesus and the Health Care Crisis

Having said in an earlier posting (9/3/09) that more than reforming the health care delivery system Americans would benefit from reforming ourselves and our lifestyles that feature bad diets, too little exercise, and too much stress, I want today to say that Jesus had a prescription for the crisis in health care which He encountered in His own time, and I believe it is still a good prescription for us.

When Jesus encountered people who suffered from illness or injury, regardless of what the illness or injury was, what did He do? He healed them! He never asked for proof of insurance. Was not deterred by anyone's inability to pay (See the case of the bankrupted woman whom Jesus healed in Mark 5.24-34). Jesus never turned away people because He already had too many patients. And, when the need for health care was greater than He could deal with personally, He trained and sent out others with authority and power to heal in His name. And it all worked!

There was a time, actually for the better part of two thousand years, that health care was largely the responsibility of the Body of Christ. Physicians and hospitals were ministries of the Church. Following the Lord's example, Christians undertook to help the sick and infirm not for fame or for profit, but because it was the right thing to do. There still are dedicated medical ministries and missionaries who go and meet the needs of people in all corners of the world. But, here in the U.S.A. the "system" has broken down. And the only fix we hear about these days is to put the whole thing in the hands of the government? That definitely was not what Jesus did, and I don't believe it is what He would have His Church do now.

Of course, trying to suggest to largely post-Christian, post-modern America that the Church should play a key role in anything concerning the general public is decried by the ACLU and attacked by atheists and other foolish people as unconstitutional. But what would help get the system back on track is not less privatization, but more. If the Body of Christ were to devote itself to lifting up and empowering Christians willing to dedicate themselves to the many healing sciences, I believe the Church, and much of the public would support it. And, if other private groups wanted to compete with Christians in the health care field let them. But please, don't let us put our health in the hands of the government!

It's like this. When Jesus was asked about what Jews should do with coins inscribed with the likeness of Caesar He responded by saying, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and give to God what is God's." Well you know what? Our lives and health are not the property of the state. We are God's, even fashioned in His own image. He has claimed us as His, promised to take care of us, and gone to extreme lengths (Think: The Cross) to not only redeem us and provide for our needs in this life, He's done everything necessary to assure us eternal life! It's about time that the Church get's back to doing the work of Jesus, and once again start to provide healing to all who need it.

How about opening a growing number of Christian health clinics open to all, regardless of ability to pay? Those who can, should of course pay, and insurers should honor payments to such clinics. As for those who can't pay, well the Church would minister to them in faith, and out of the love of, and for, the Savior. How about "bailing out" struggling hospitals and other health care facilities by the Church taking them over? If I was in the upper echelons of the Church, and I am about as far removed from the upper echelons of anything as you can get, but if I was, I would get real busy working on plans to step in and start caring for Americans. Who knows, it might even regain some of the credibility the Church has forfeited.

I do know that Jesus, when confronted with health care crises in His time, did not pass it on to anyone else but took care of the needs himself. Time His Church started doing what Jesus did.

If Jesus Were Commissioner

Not to sound blasphemous, but I think I'd like to see Jesus serve as Commissioner for Major League Baseball. Actually, I think it would be a good idea if He headed up the NFL, NBA, and NHL to boot. He would, I am sure, make some needed changes in each of the leagues, the first being the reining in of rampant greed that has so corrupted what once was sport.

Take the seasons, they all run over into each other so that we have baseball playoffs postponed because of snow, and football players succumbing to heat stroke, while the finalists in the basketball playoffs just manage to finish before football training camps open. Jesus would get the league schedules straightened out because He knows, better than anyone, that "to everything there is a season," and it simply runs against nature for the World Series to finish in November, upsets the order of things for football to start around the 4th of July and not conclude until it is nearly Valentine's Day, and for basketball to get started just days after the football season has barely begun and then only crown its champion as the MLB All-Star game is about to be played.

Of course, to get all these seasons back where they belong would mean Jesus would have to shorten them all, which means fewer games, which means fewer dollars. But no one will go out of business if baseball were to hold the "Fall Classic" the first week of October rather than the last. And no NFL owner will go belly up if the playoffs were scheduled for December and the Super Bowl was held right around New Years. Not one NBA franchise would sink if the whole season, from training camp to Championship was made to fit between the beginning of October and the beginning of May. As for hockey, its a WINTER sport! Winter doesn't last from September to June in most places, and neither does interest in the NHL.

Of course, it is pure greed that has driven things to this point, and I realize it is un-American to suggest there is something wrong with greed, but hey, this blog is "What Would Jesus Do?' and He is not American. So, please Jesus, come and stop the proliferation of seasons that don't know when to begin, and refuse to know when to end.

While I'm on the bandwagon, I'll offer one other thing that Commissioner Jesus would do soon after taking office. He would get rid of all the pornography (Read "cheerleaders") whose presence and purpose has nothing to do with sport, unless lasciviousness and lechery are now competitive. Scantily clad women shaking their pom-poms, and whatever else they can shake, are intended to appeal to nothing remotely connected with any of the games they appear at. Their sole purpose is to lure in viewers-spectators through, if you will excuse the expression, their titillating routines. Of course, several generations of "Sportsmen" who have grown up on the pornography of SI's annual swimsuit edition will settle for nothing less than all the flesh that can be exposed, even cheering "wardrobe malfunctions" at Super Bowl halftimes.

Yep, if Jesus were Commissioner things would definitely change. As things are now, pretty much every professional sports venue falls into the category of idolatrous and lascivious temple to "gods" of greed and sex. Anyone else smell fire and brimstone in the air?

I Need A Job, But I Need Something More

I do not have a job. This puts me in good company with millions of other Americans. The last job I had was six days a week for the princely wage of $225 per week. I loved the work, was not thrilled about the pay. Now my unemployment check is about the same size as my last paycheck. Not thrilled about the check, or the lack of work. Again, I suspect there are no few others out there in similar circumstances.

For a variety of reasons I have had the opportunity to investigate some business opportunities, as well as simply look for a job. The funny thing about the business opportunities is that I can't help feeling that someone is trying to give me what we used to call, "the business." It seems the current economic climate is very friendly to things that rhyme with "spam" but have a 'c' in place of the 'p'. Every week I get several invitation to attend a meeting, or call an 800 number to find out how I can get rid of my timeshare. They promise they'll save me money by giving me the opportunity to make them money upfront. Well money is tight, so I think I'll hold onto the little I have for now.

No few of the businesses have the old familiar ring of the multi-level-marketing schemes that I have always loathed. Every time I hear about one of them they talk about putting me in a place where I'll be able to help other people, and make myself fabulously rich at the same time. Hmm, it has always seemed to me that the people MLM systems are designed to help are the ones in the system being helped by taking money from others lower in the system than they are.

And, while I wouldn't mind owning a new boat, a car less than 11 years old, and have the money to go on a cruise, I actually believe I can live happy and fulfilled without any of those things. Oh, there's some temptation there, but I am really on my guard not to push the "greed" button. And cut through all the talk about being in control of your own time and money, being your own boss, enjoying the "lifestyle you've always wanted" and it comes down to playing on our love of money. Now I forget a lot of things, but I do remember the Bible's caution that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Nothing wrong with money in itself, it is pretty useful. But making the making of money the focus of your life is a bad choice, and I don't care how happy the people in all the glossy pictures look on their yachts!

Actually, I believe one of the greatest, probably the greatest, certainly more important than financial security, reason to work is the sense of self-worth it gives you. Regardless of what you earn for your work, that fact that you earn anything says something about your worth. Not working, not having a job, can make you feel pretty worthless. Of course, given the state of the economy, there are a lot more unpaid and underpaid jobs out there than before. The bad thing about being a volunteer who is valued, or an underpaid worker who is valued, is that you might get to do something worthwhile and still lose your house, or not have health insurance.

And let's face it, financial security, if that's all you have, is no security. It doesn't matter how rich you are, you can lose it all, or have it stolen from you, and then where are you? In the end, the poorest refugee in Darfur can be infinitely far more secure than the world's richest man. Because, while money is important, the one thing we all need isn't a thing at all, but a person--Jesus Christ. Health, wealth, even life itself can be gone in an instant, without there being anything we can do about it. Doesn't sound like security to me. But with Jesus Christ, there can be the assurance that, whether you are down to your last dollar or have a couple of million of them in the bank, whether you are fit as a fiddle or sick as a dog, whether you have many long years ahead of you or your next breath turns out to be your last, He's got you safe in His arms now and forever.

Actually, admitting your lack of real security and great need of Him is the big step we all need to take. One of the worst things I can imagine happening to someone who buys into one of the scams currently preying upon the desperate unemployed is that they work out and someone does make a lot of money, and starts enjoying the lifestyles of the rich and famous, because they will very likely arrive at the opinion that they don't need Jesus at all.

You know, the Bible doesn't teach us that Jesus ever earned even so much as one shekel. And His apostles all walked away from their former lives, some of them relatively poor some of them quite comfortable, to embrace a life full of sacrifice and worldly risks. But, with the exception of Judas Iscariot, they all received eternal security.
Well, I just pray I'll be able to stifle the impulse to grab for some high-sounding "life-changing opportunities" that are out there, and hang in with the Lord come what may. I've got to tell you, the Revelation 22.14 lifestyle can't be beat!

Well, they've been hinting at it for some time now. You know, "experts" in business and government have been telling us they've been seeing signs that the recession was coming to an end. Now I read that Benjamin Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, has declared the recession is "very likely over." What a relief! Of course, I do wonder what indicators Bernanke was using to make his pronouncement that "happy days are here again," so to speak?

Last time I checked, which was just a few minutes ago actually, the U.S. unemployment figures for August 2009 showed nearly a 1/4 of a million Americans lost their jobs, and that nearly 1 out of every 10 American workers is, well, out of work. I hope Mr. Bernanke drops a note to those 216,000 families telling them to cheer up--the recession's over!

Actually, Bernanke better get real busy writing notes to encourage a lot more Americans about his declaration of the end of the recession. By the end of 2009 it is expected 3.4 million households will be in the process of losing their homes due to foreclosures. In August of 2009 alone the rate of foreclosures had jumped 18% compared to the same month last year. Yes sir, this end of the recession is really swell.

I'll tell you what would really worry me--if Bernanke went to work for the CDC and declared an end to the Swine Flu threat. That would be scary!

I suppose what Mr. Bernanke meant when he said the recession was at an end was that the Chinese firms high rolling American tycoons have invested in are doing well (see my blog from 9/15). That makes sense, because U.S. retailers, who mostly sell goods from China these days, reported an upturn in sales in August.

Not that I know very much, but I think a sign that the recession is over would look something like what Jesus described in Matthew 20.1-16. There a landowner (Think "wealthy businessman") could not hire enough people to get all the work done, and went out into the streets and had what amounted to a job fair four times in one day. THAT's an end to recession!
Unfortunately, there appear to be very few job fairs out there for the 10% of Americans out of work. I wonder if Mr. Bernanke, or anyone else in Washington, might do something about that?

Let's Reform Ourselves First

I won't insult your intelligence by pretending to have sufficient insight into the nation's health care delivery system to offer my suggestions on fixing it. Actually, even more important than reforming health care delivery is the need for Americans to do something about health care demand. The best way to deal with illness and injury is to do all you can to avoid them in the first place! This means that the real critical need is to reform Americans first, then worry about reforming our health care systems.

Reports of Americans' increasing life-span belie the fact of America's growing lack of fitness. Super-sized portions of fast-food combined with sedentary life-styles adds up to a lot of needless illness that costs everyone too much to treat. Any medical person will tell you that primary prevention is by far the "best medicine." But every day millions of Americans do, not to put too fine a point on it, dumb things that invite all manner of acute and chronic illnesses and injuries.

Here's one example that we all see pretty much every day: the driver in the vehicle in the lane next to us with a cigarette in one hand, a cell phone in the other, and the steering wheel in...well it's being juggled. An accident waiting to happen, chronic, and likely terminal illness, being sown in the lungs and heart! Like I said, dumb.

Then there's the parade of young school-children coming in to my wife's school nurse office on a daily schedule with their asthma and diabetes. Hmm, the fact that as infants and toddlers these kids were a few feet, often a few inches, from a constant stream of tobacco smoke couldn't have something to do with their asthma, could it? The poor diet, obesity, and all but total lack of exercise doesn't contribute to the diabetes, does it? Multiply what my wife sees each week by all the school nurse offices across the county and, well, as I said, the problem we need to fix is health care demand more than health care delivery. It's our brokenness that should be more of a concern to the nation than the health care industry.

I don't mean to pick on my wife, and I don't need to. Working at a Scout camp this summer I saw plenty of boys, 1/5 my age, who I could run circles around. And I'm not the most active guy on the block. But when I take a simple 5-mile hike and leave a bunch of 11-12 year-olds in the dust, something's wrong, and reforming health care delivery won't fix it. And it's not just the boys in Scouting who are out of shape. Scout leaders like to say, "Scouting rounds a boy out." Well, judging by the belt-lines of no few leaders, we're a little too round! And it was, to put it plainly, revolting, to visit the leaders' arbor and choke on all the cigarette smoke there. So, much a Scout's promise to keep himself "physically strong." If they keep on smoking they'll make themselves a physical wreck, and it doesn't do me any good to be around their "exhaust."

All this is not to say that health care delivery couldn't and shouldn't be improved. But I, for one, would much prefer all the concern to be directed where it could do the most immediate good. If we all improved our health, health care would be a lot less on our minds. From the perspective of faith, well, believing what St. Paul said about our bodies being God's temple (1Corinthians 3.16-17; 6.19-20), tells me that all the abuse and neglect of Americans' bodies is an affront to God. Not that Congress would concern itself with honoring God as an incentive to encourage Americans to reform our lives, rather than waiting for our leaders to reform a system that isn't the real problem.

Enough of this, I going for a jog.

It's A Nice Place To visit, But...

I was blessed to have had the opportunity to go to Israel in 2000. As often happens when I travel, I thought it would be nice to live there. Of course, six months after my visit a lot of shooting and bombing erupted in Jerusalem and all over Israel and the Palestinian territories, and my assessment might have been different had I visited the Holy Land in the fall of 2000 rather than the spring. If I had been in Israel that fall I probably wouldn't even have been able to say, "It's a nice place to visit.""

Actually, people make that assessment, "It's a nice place to visit," after visiting some of the most beautiful and exotic vacation destinations. But even then they often go on to conclude, "but I wouldn't want to live there." There is just something powerful about "home" that draws us back. Even Dorothy Gale, dazzled by the beauty and wonders of Oz, had to conclude, "There's no place like home," and back she went to black and white Kansas from technicolor Oz. There is no place like home. But is Kansas home? Or North Carolina? Or New Jersey? Well, I've lived in New Jersey and North Carolina, and a bunch of other places too. And I've come to the conclusion that, contrary to the old adage, there was a place I "visited" that I'd rather live.

You see, that trip to Israel was, not to oversell it, transformational. Though I didn't speak the languages, except with those who accommodated me and spoke in English, though my faith put me in a decided minority in the land, though the landscape showed then the many scars of the millennia-old war that has raged there, to say nothing of what has happened in the eight years since I visited, I nevertheless felt strangely at home there.

You know, the truth is, wherever you are, no matter how long you've been there, you are not home. The Bible makes it quite clear, we are all travelers through this place. (1 Peter 2.11; see Hebrews 11 for fuller understanding) Our true home is with God. And, to borrow a line from an old, old song, if you are asking, "Show me the way to go home," I can help you. The wisdom and philosophies of the post-modern world notwithstanding, there is just One Way home--Jesus. He plainly said as much when he told Thomas and the other apostles, "I am the way...no one comes to the Father, but through me." (John 14.6)

Back to Israel, or rather, back to my visit there. I spent several days of my trip in Jerusalem. It was an awesome place to visit, and I did and do, want to live there because God has declared that it is His place of eternal dwelling. No, not the city divided into Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim quarters, surrounded by beautiful, but bullet-pocked, walls. That city is sort of a shadow, a very imperfect likeness of another Jerusalem, a new Jerusalem, whose foundation was laid by God, a Jerusalem that will come "down from heaven form God." (Hebrews 11.10 ; Revelation 21.2) Long ago God himself declared that Jerusalem would be His permanent address, His home, "For the LORD has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling: 'This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it--'" (Psalm 132.13-14) If the "new Jerusalem" is going to be where God is going to hang His hat forever, then that's where I want to be. What made Israel and Jerusalem such a great place to visit was not its past, which most people go to see, but its future, which we can only imagine. And I am thrilled knowing that one day it will be my dwelling place. In fact, Jesus, who is the One Way, to get there, has even gone to the trouble to prepare a place just for me. (John 14.2-3). A nice place to visit? You bet, and I long to be there again. You just let me know if you'd like to go there too. I promise, if you visit, you'll want to live there!

A Job-like Endurance

I just happened to be reading Job 24 today. The chapter stands out from much of Job's lamentations over his epic sufferings in that he observes that, out of sync with his worldview, evildoers appeared to prosper. In so many words, Job admitted that, though his theology embraced the concept of a sovereign God who ensured justice for all, a lot of bad guys seemed not only to get away with their bad deeds, they got to enjoy what we might call the "lifestyles of the rich and (in)famous" courtesy of their wicked exploitation of folks who were essentially powerless and marginalized. Well, while some do go to jail, or suffer sudden and violent ends, there are still plenty of people who live lavishly at the expense of others' suffering and exploitation, not infrequently the exploitation of their own employees. And who but the most naive of us believe that few, if any, of our political leaders are squeaky clean.

The news headlines this morning tell of the passing of a political leader who was near the top of the heap of American government and power for nearly half a century, but who could hardly have claimed to being "squeaky clean." Senator Ted Kennedy certainly had a few stains on his record. Perhaps one or more of them prevented him from ever being able to report his address as "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue." But, he certainly was politically resilient. And there's no denying he was the darling of a generation or two of liberals who will undoubtedly sing his praises even as they mourn his death.

With the passing of Senator Kennedy I suspect the famous family, which was never far from the spotlight of American politics, and often said to represent an "American dynasty," will now fade rather swiftly to relative obscurity. Certainly, no few school children will wonder what all the fuss is, the Kennedy name meaning little, if anything, to them today, and less tomorrow. The several generations of Kennedys who have strode across the political and social landscape of the nation since the 1940s have endured Job-like tragedies and loss, and, little as I admire their politics, I commend their grace and strength and endurance through the years and the pain, and pray God's peace for them at this time.

I Would Have Been An Un-Easy Rider

I have a friend who is in love with the romance of biking. Not peddle power, we're talking Harley's here. Like most 50-60 something guys I admit to imagining myself taking to the road with Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider, at least up until that last scene, there's nothing particularly romantic or noble about being blown away by rednecks in a pickup. But my idle dreams of rolling down the highway on a crotch rocket with my then longish hair and beard waving proudly in the wind lasted about five minutes.

You see, my real love back then, and now, was my wife. She saw that wistful look in my eyes as I grooved to the soundtrack of Easy Rider, and she wasn't about to let this knucklehead get her onto a bike. Let me tell you, when you were married to a 22 year-old orthopedic nurse who regularly saw bikers brought in to the hospital in a basket, you listened when she said, "You are never going to ride a motorcycle!" And so, today, my bikes continue to be powered by nothing more than my size 101/2s. I am sure that if I had pursued that dream of the open road I would have been an uneasy rider at best. It wasn't just the fate of Fonda and Hopper that worried me. I had seen Lawrence of Arabia as well.

I have wondered if, had I gotten a motorcycle, if I would have been in the "You're violating my constitutional rights making me wear a helmet" Party? Actually, I guess I know the answer. I wear a helmet when I'm peddling. I put on my life-jacket while the boat's still tied to the dock. My seat belt is clicked before I leave the driveway. I teach Boy Scouts how to safely use knives and axes--"Careful how you swing that, Johnny, you might miss those toes later!"

But my buddy Bob Kopp, who actually has a motorcycle, even as he lusts for a bigger and faster one, while nobody's fool, clearly loves the wind in his hair, or did when he still had hair. (Sorry Bob) And I suspect that Bob would not turn down an opportunity to argue before the Supreme Court and defend a biker's right not to wear a helmet. Me? I'm not sure where I come down between absolute personal freedoms and the state's right to protect folks from risky behaviors. But, since jumping out of airplanes for fun isn't illegal, I'm not sure I get the whole biker helmet movement. People seem to be given a green light to get their thrills by all manner of risky pursuits. Hey, I still ride roller-coasters! And if bungee jumpers can leap off of bridges, and skydivers out of planes, and rock-jocks can scale sheer cliffs, and wildlife fanatics can play tag with snakes and alligators, well, I don't see what's so wrong about a biker being allowed to expose his or her noggin to a close encounter with the pavement.

At the same time, those of us who preach the Gospel try and convince sinners to surrender their freedom to indulge their illicit lusts and appetites, their passions for idols, their covetous impulses, and exchange them for the joy and privilege of becoming Christ's bond servant. But we Gospel preachers don't force someone to accept Jesus as Savior. We don't coerce people into saying, "Jesus is Lord!" At least we're not supposed to. I think perhaps the government might follow the example of how it dealt with the question of smoking years ago. Maybe something like this would be sufficient, on every motorcycle operator's license there is this caveat, "Warning: The Surgeon General has found that riding a motorcycle without a helmet can be hazardous to your health." The sad news about motorcycles is that some bikers, whether they wear a helmet or not, have accidents and suffer permanent brain injuries and death.

The Good News about Jesus is, whether we are Easy or Uneasy "Riders" (disciples), all who believe in Him, even though they die, shall live. And everyone who lives and believes in Jesus will never die. (John 11.25-26)

Why I Hate THE FALL

I hate THE FALL. No, it's not Autumn that I have issues with, the season just might be my favorite. I am talking about "The Fall," as, "In Adam's Fall we sinned all." All creation's estrangement from God as a result of the monumentally bad choice of our ancestors, Adam and Eve. As beautiful as this world often is, and as lovely as many of the people and creatures in it often are, the barbarity, letting, cruelty, senseless suffering, and that cause "all creation to groan" as it collectively longs to be freed from its current (See Romans 8.18-25), drives me to tears.

I do hate THE FALL, but I love hummingbirds! Such beautiful and delightful little blurs of color, and aerial acrobatics almost beyond belief. We now have five hummingbird feeders about our yard, and I am fairly certain that by next spring we'll have more. Our feeders attract more hummers than I can count, they just don't stay still long enough. And, no matter how bad a day, or week, or month, we might be having, the hummers never fail to lift our spirits when my wife and I sit out on our front porch and just watch, and listen, to them.

Actually, there was one time, earlier this week, when going out on the porch to check on the hummingbirds upset me to the point of nausea, rather than cheered me. Before I tell you what so disturbed me I need to pause for a Bible lesson. I do so even though teaching this lesson has gotten me in trouble before.

What I have gotten in hot water over is one of the repercussions of THE FALL. You see, there was a time when this whole earth was Vegan. God had filled the earth with all kinds of creatures of the seas, the skies, and the fields, and He had created Man and appointed him steward of this world. And for Man and all creatures God had supplied a veritable "Garden of Delights" filled with all kinds of good things to eat--from the trees and plants.
"Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on
the face of the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You
shall have them as food. And to every beast of the earth, and to
every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creeps on the
earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every
green plant for food." [Genesis 1.29-30]

God had made a vegetarian creation. Fruits, nectar, nuts, and vegetables made up the diet of every living thing. No creature had any reason to fear any other creature, because no drop of needed ever be spilled according to God's plan for the world. Then, THE FALL. And, perhaps worst of all, Adam and Eve's choice to eat the one fruit that God had them to eat, forced God himself to be the first shedder, as He was compelled to slay a couple of His creatures in order to fashion garments of animal skins to cover the foolish man and woman. And the letting has only increased ever since.

Now, how I got in trouble with this lesson, and may again sharing it here, was when I told my students that Heaven is vegetarian. In a place where there will be no more death there won't be any hamburgers or chicken fingers, sorry. You see, Heaven, and the redeemed and renewed earth are where, "the wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy..." (Isaiah 65.25) You might not see where the offense lies in this teaching, but where I now live there are some folks who like to hunt and fish, and who eat their meat with real savor, and the thought of a meatless heaven is disturbing to them. Me, I am looking forward to it. Even though I confess to being too weak to change my own diet, which, to my shame, continues to include meat, poultry, and fish.

What has all this to do with my getting so disturbed when I went out on the porch the other day? Well, as I walked over to the feeder I saw what looked at first like some kind of vine with a flower hanging from the feeder. This particular feeder was on a dual hook with a vining plant, so I first thought that the vine had somehow grasped the feeder. Then, as I got close enough for my eyes to clearly focus, I saw, to my revulsion, that the "vine" was a praying mantis, and the "flower" was a hummingbird it had killed and was in the process of eating. Well, I went kind of ballistic. I ran and got a stick, and cursing that mantis, I walloped it and whacked it, even though I knew it was only doing what it needed to to survive.

Up until the other day I had been taught, and always believed, that a praying mantis was a beneficial insect that helped control garden pests. Never had I imagined that they were really "preying" mantis's that would viciously attack one of God's most beautiful and little creatures. And I tried to anthropomorphize God, and convince myself that He would approve of my act of vengeance against the mantis. Surely God loves hummingbirds as much as I do, and would be similarly upset if He knew that they were the target of bloodthirsty mantis attacks!

And then I thought about THE FALL, and that in the prelapsarian world the diet of the praying mantis did not include hummingbirds, and wolves didn't eat lambs, and lions were grazers like oxen. And Man, well he didn't have any desire to hunt or fish. Or to order the six ounce Outback Sirloin Special. Even more, Man, back in that ever so fleeting Vegan world of peace, would never have raised his hand against one of God's creatures, much less his own brother. And I hated THE FALL. And I didn't think too much of myself, being an all too fallen creature, with more blood on my hands than I care to tell you about.

But even Jesus, during the time He spent here on this world as one of us, even Jesus ate flesh. For during His earthly sojourn the Son of God was a son of man as well, not fallen, certainly, but living among us, like one of us in every way but without sin. And, in the glorious will of God, it was Jesus who offered himself as the final blood sacrifice to Man's rebellion against God and His order for His creation. The last "flesh" to be consumed was to be Christ's body on the Cross, given for us all, and for hummingbirds, and even "preying" mantis's, so that all of creation should be redeemed and renewed.

I hate THE FALL because, among other things, hummingbirds have to die. But, more than I hate THE FALL, I love God because He was willing to sacrifice His own Son so that one day no more hummingbirds will die in my garden. No more children will starve to death in Darfur. No more women will die of breast cancer. No more men will die from heart attacks. There will be new heavens and a new earth. All the sorrows of what has gone before will be no longer remembered. We shall all be glad and rejoice forever in God's new creation.

Why Is There Music?

Twenty-five months ago, as I lay on a table in an operating room preparing to have one of my vital organs removed, there was nothing wrong with it, my son just needed it more than I did, the anesthesiologist asked me if I had any questions. I was already a bit foggy, as they had begun my sedation while I had still been upstairs in my room. But I was with it enough to respond with a question, and I am sure it was one the doctor never anticipated.

When asked if I had any questions I replied, "Actually, yes, I do. Why is there music?" After a few moments of silence while the doctor tried to figure out if I was serious, or if it was the sedative at work, she responded haltingly, "Well, uh, we play music in the OR to relieve some of the tension, it helps us all to relax." But that wasn't what I had meant, "No, doctor, I mean why is there music? Why does music exist?" Growing more apprehensive about her crazy patient, the doctor valiantly tried to keep me calm by offering her best guess, "I suppose music exists because people feel like making it." It wasn't the time for a lengthy discussion, so I quickly shared my belief about why there is music, "Music exists because God created it for His pleasure, and ours, and to glorify Himself." Silence for a few awkward moments. Then the anesthesiologist said, "Oh. Hmmm. Well, that's interesting." And she quickly opened up the IV and sent me off to dreamland as fast as she could.

I love music. And I have considerable muscial talent. Oh, I can't play any instrument, and my voice, well its made for the printed word, not for song. But I am a great listener of music. 45s, LPs, tapes, CDs, I have them all. Country, classical, jazz, rock, sacred, just no disco or hip-hop. Can't carry a tune in a bucket, but I can with my Walkman. And I'm so thankful that God gave us music. And I'm thankful that God gave us musicians. It was the sounds of the music that God created in nature that inspired our ancestors to hum, whistle, snap there fingers, bang on a log, blow on a reed.

Around our house we are surrounded by music. We are fortunate to have trees full of birds who joyfully serenade us each day. And we are blessed to have a daughter who is one of those musicians God created. Although she is away at college studying and performing music most of the time, semester breaks and summers offer the opportunity to hear Jamie's lively flute at any hour of the day. And Jamie is one of the reasons I know God craeted music, because I know she didn't inherit any musical gifts from me, she arrived, nearly 23 years ago, with the musical gifts already hard-wired in by her Creator.

Well, one of these days I'll figure out how to add some links to this blog so you can visit the website that Jamie and her musical partner, Jojo (an awesome classical guitarist from Brasil) have. And maybe I'll find out how to insert a link to a music file to make this blog more pleasurable for us all. And to glorify God.

"Objection, your honor!"

First of all, let me introduce myself to all those who don't know who "Psalmfox" is. My name is Jim Wilken. I am a pastor, although I haven't served a congregation for nearly two years. I am a Christian Educator, although I no longer serve at a Christian school. I am a Boy Scout, although I am no longer a boy. Actually, watching "A Clear and Present Danger" with Harrison Ford the other day, Jack Ryan (Ford's character, and Clancy's creation) was derogatorily referred to as a "Boy Scout" by one of the bad guys, meaning Ryan lived by honor and a high set of ideals which he would not compromise for any reason. And so, with me, it is not a love of tramping about in the woods that makes me a Scout, though I do the Boy Scouts' camping thing, as much as it is my love for Scouting's ideals, things like duty to God and country, service to others, obeying the Scout Law (You know, "A Scout is... trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.").

And speaking of reverence, as I shared with my camp staff colleagues and the Scouts I worked with for six weeks at Camp Bud Schiele this summer, my seeking to live up to Scouting's ideals is not foremost to be a "good Scout," but rather, as in all things, to glorify God with my life. This is not to say that I haven't failed to glorify God many times. The truth is, the mess and muck of my life has far more often dishonored Him. But, because He is loving and merciful, and has extended unimaginable grace to me through His Son, Jesus Christ the Lord, I'm still here, and get another shot at glorifying Him today.

Enough with the rambling introduction, check out my profile on this blog and find out more about me if you must. Let's get on to my objection.

I have a confession to make. Confession is always good up front. Less loss of face than a belated confession, don't you think? My confession is this, somewhere in my dresser I have a $3.00 "WWJD" ring. Although it's lost, I used to have a green plastic "WWJD" bracelet. I used to think it was pretty cool to ask that question, "What would Jesus do?" But lately, I have had growing objection to the whole WWJD approach. and so, like Perry Mason, the first TV lawyer I ever knew, or like Harmon Rabb, my favorite JAG attorney, I would jump to my feet and cry "Objection, your honor! Calls for speculation," if opposing counsel asked a witness, "What would Jesus do?"

Well intentioned as I am sure the WWJD thing is, i have had a growing concern that it encourages what I would call speculative theology. Speculative theology is man centered, or, if you prefer non-gender suggestive language, human centered, theology. Speculative theology is built upon what we imagine or think about God from our experience, rather than what we know about God through His self-revelation. Speculative theology leaves the door wide open for us to come up with pretty much any answer we can justify to ourselves when responding to the question, "What would Jesus do?" Thus, we could speculate, for example that Jesus would not condemn abortion, or bless same-sex unions. We might justify euthanasia by suggesting that the Jesus we know would extend mercy to someone suffering by killing them, or helping them to kill themselves, the total lack of any actual biblical evidence that He would ever do such a thing notwithstanding.

So, here's the thing--wouldn't we do better to ask "What did Jesus do?' Might we not find more solid answers for life's tough questions, and our moral dilemmas, in the scriptural record of Jesus' life? Anyway, I think so. that's why, even though I cannot imagine what might eventually appear on this blog, more often than not I may reflect upon some news of the day by challenging myself, and you, to react and respond, not at Jesus might, but as He did.