The venom of asps is under their lips

Romans 3:13-14 Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.”  “The venom of asps is under their lips.” Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”

I heard a story, from two very reliable sources, about a man who was so spiritually bankrupt that he threatened a competitor with running that competitor out of business. This story has a very profoundly sad aspect to it. The person that was threatening the competitor let the competitor know they would not even be able to go to work for him. And the reason was, the competitor came from the wrong faith.

When I heard this story, I was at first angered. I personally know the competitor that was threatened. I do not like it, when friends are threatened. It fills me with a resolve to want to “fix” someone. And then I remember who I am, what I am, and I have to ask myself the big question. What would Jesus do in this situation? And my answer comes from the Bible. In processing this answer, I am first led to Romans 3:13-14.  There are people who walk this earth who completely and totally fit the description offed in Romans 3:13-14.  But if I stopped reading there, I would miss the important lesson offered to me in Romans 3:15-17 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” If I set out for revenge, I am no better than the original offender. So what am I to do, nothing? Surely God wants me to do something! And then the answer is open for me to see in my blindness. Matthew 5:44 & 45 admonishes us with the words of Jesus. “But I say to you, ‘Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes sun rise on the evil and on the good and send rain on the just and on the unjust.”  But what should I pray for in regards to those who would persecute me, or my friend?  Obviously if my friend, who is a Christian is from the “wrong religion” then the man who persecute the friend is not a Christian. And so the enlightenment offered from Romans 3: 21-26 is what needs to be prayed for.  But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as   a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 

If we want to help, we must pray for those who are not believers. We must seek a change of heart for those do not know the love of God, His grace and His forgiveness that is given to all who believe in Christ Jesus. In the end, I pity the man who persecutes my friend and thus offer the prayer below.

PRAYER: Almighty God, Your love for all mankind is boundless. All have sinned and fallen short of righteousness. Many who call themselves believers are not. Many who would show disrespect for others claim to be righteous by their own actions and deeds. Father, my heart goes out for the lost, the deceived and those whose false beliefs lead to death of body and spirit. Abba, Father, I ask that You would pour out Your Spirit on those who would persecute others. I would ask that their hardened hearts would be softened with Your love. I ask that their eyes be opened to the righteous that is offered through Jesus Christ and not the death that lies before them in their mistaken efforts at self-induced righteousness. Lord, let Your Spirit change their hearts and their lives. I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit reign supreme as One God, now and forever, Amen.

In the darkness

Psalm 88:12 Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

Stumbling around in the dark is not fun, by any definition of fun. Bumping into things, constantly wondering If you are going to suddenly, and painfully, encounter an object that will bring you to an abrupt halt is not a good feeling. I take heat for having flashlights all around the house, or hotel when traveling. But on several occasions, the flashlights have proven to be very useful and comforting.

In our lives we encounter two kinds of darkness. There is the physical darkness (the absence of light) and a spiritual darkness (the absence of the light of Christ).  The physical darkness can be discomforting to be in. Usually we seek to quickly restore a source of light.  When it comes to spiritual darkness the problem can be a bit more difficult. Have you ever encountered someone who is truly living in spiritual darkness?  That would be someone what at the least is not a follower of Jesus Christ, at the most they are evil. And by evil I mean through their actions, or words exhibit the lack of respect for people, animals, the environment. They may bring on a feeling of discomfort, distress, or even repulsion. While the presence of evil is downplayed in our current society and on modern media, it really does exist. And I am not just talking about zombies and vampires. I am talking about real evil. The evidence of the factual presence of evil speaks for itself. Suicide bombers that take the lives of innocent people are one example. Serial killers who kill others for no reason whatsoever. There is without any doubt evil in our world. Evil was there in the garden of Eden, and roams the earth today like a hungry lion waiting to devour its’ next victim. Some may argue there is more evil in our world today than at any other time in history. I wonder if that is true, or not. When I think about God the Father sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth over two thousand years ago I have to think things back then were pretty bad too. The religious leaders had distorted the word of God and had placed burdens on believers that no one could fulfill. The hypocrisy of those times was immense (ginormous).  And yet look at present day society. How far off the path illuminated by Christ has our world gone? We can scarcely see Christ through the fog of deception that is called societal norms. Yet, through all of this, stands the light of Christ like a beacon on a hill. His light shines for all to see. His light pierces the darkness, and exposes all the ugliness hidden by the darkness. Those living in spiritual darkness knows it is evil they are drawn to. And those in spiritual darkness chose to accept darkness. Yet Christ is waiting to embrace even those in the darkness regardless of their past. Total acceptance is what Jesus is all about. All that is in the past is forgiven. A bright future can be found for those who leave the darkness and walk to the light of Christ.

PRAYER: Father, the darkness that walks this earth can be scary and at times it seems overwhelming. Evil stands in stark contrast to the righteousness of Christ. Help us to stay in the light. Help us to reach out to those who do not know the righteousness of Christ. Protect us from the evil that seeks to devour all men and women in this world. This we ask in the name of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Have you seen the light?

John 1: 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

That was some kind of wind storm we experienced last week. There were power outages in many areas of southeast Idaho. And we were lucky enough to experience one at Grace Lutheran Church just in time for the Ash Wednesday Service. All things considered, the lack of light and people with candles and flashlights added a nice ambience to the service.

Often we will hear a story of someone who suddenly sees the light. Usually this refers to a person having an epiphany. By epiphany I mean an intuitive grasp of reality through something simple and striking. Epiphanies are also called brain storms, sudden realizations, or blinding truths. If you have ever had an epiphany you know how startling they can be. I have had my share of epiphanies. They are usually in the form of the realization that what I was doing was profoundly stupid, and dangerous.  Things like skiing off the cat track and onto the black diamond ski run, or driving too fast on a narrow and snow covered road. But there are also good epiphanies. One of the best, if not the best, is when a friend realizes that Jesus Christ is Lord. The blinding truth can set into motion any number of follow on actions for most people. The joy of realizing that Jesus Christ is Lord can have a profound impact on some people. And for others the impact can be gut wrenching. In essence this fact can throw their whole world into a turmoil. The realization that what they have been told up to the epiphany about their religion was nothing but lies can be troubling to say the least. A profound sense of alienation, real and imagined, is possible. Those who perpetuated the past version of the truth may in fact alienate the new believer in Christ because they no longer accept the lie that has been perpetuated. The god of old being replaced by the Triune God is comforting to some, and traumatic to others.

What does this mean for those of us who are long standing followers of Christ? Simply put, we need to reach out in love to those who are new to the faith. We need to be accepting, nurturing, caring, and all the other good “ing” words. We should encourage their growth in Christ. The light of Christ is a very bright warm light that now surrounds a new believer. Helping their transition is an excellent was for us to fulfill the commandment to love others as we love ourselves.

PRAYER: Lord of All Creation, You bring light to the darkness. The sun rises and and sun sets because that is Your will. And to light of Your Son, Jesus Christ, rises in the hearts of new believers, help us to help them. Show us Your will, guide our hands to reach out in love. Let our words of encouragement be Your words O God. We ask this in the strong name of Jesus Christ, Amen.