The chilling truth as to why we can’t understand religious extremists.

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Religious Fervor

Happy New Year! That exclamation rings with hope for a new year full of new beginnings. There’s a spirit of optimism that things left undone in the old year can be tackled in the new with renewed strength and vitality. There is also the anticipation of new adventures and new horizons to be explored. However, why do we wait until January 1^st for a rebirth of all things hopeful. The fact is that God is all about rebirth and restoration. We know that if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. Old things have passed away and everything has become new. However, that spirit of newness is not limited to the point at which we were born again. It can be a daily experience if we trust what he has said in Lamentations 3 – His mercies are new every day. That spirit of optimism and hope can be ours on January 1^st and every other day of the year – on the day we are reborn into the family of God and on every other day of the year. Great is God’s faithfulness. We will hope in Him today, tomorrow, and the day after that because His mercies are new every day and His steadfast love never ceases.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:22-24 (ESV)

Often we feel like Autumn – dying; shedding leaves; cold; dull brown instead of vibrant green with life.  In the Autumn periods of life we may question why our Creator is allowing us to wither and die on the vine.  God has not abandoned us, but is rather supporting us through this time.  He knows that Winter is coming and He is preparing us for the harsh brutality of the next season in our life.  Sounds depressing?  No!  Three reasons come to mind.  The first and most obvious is that Spring is coming (after we have endured the cold times) when we will once again enjoy the warm sunshine of His love and His Spirit flowing through our spiritual hearts.  The second is that the slow progression of Autumn allows us time to rest gently in His arms before we experience the worst of the trials ahead.  And third, there is a beauty in Autumn that always draws us in.  We stop and reflect on the changing of the colors and that pause alone – that pause to soak up the richness of the season – that pause alone causes us to look to the One Who created the seasons.  We look to One Who provides beauty in each season of life.  We look to the One Who walks with us through each season of life knowing that in Him we run, we dance, we play, we sing, we hope and in Him we crawl, we sway, we mourn, we cry, and we even share our deepest despair.  May we enjoy the beauty that is Autumn and may we rest safely in the arms of the One Who will surely sustain us in the Autumns of our lives.

Jonathan Edwards, in his book Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement and Visible Union of God’s People, In Extraordinary Prayer, (the title goes on for quite a bit more) wrote the following as the second point of his treatise:

THE GOOD WHICH SHALL BE BROUGHT BY PRAYER: GOD HIMSELF. Scripture says, “They shall go to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of Hosts.” The good that they seek for is “The Lord of Hosts,” Himself. If “seeking God” means no more than seeking the favor or mercy of God then “praying before the Lord,” and “seeking the Lord of Hosts” must be looked upon as synonymous. However, “seeking the Lord” is commonly used to mean something far more than seeking something from God. Surely it implies that God Himself is what is desired and sought after.

Our prayers should first and foremost be an expression of our love for God and of our desire to know Him more and more – every day and in every way.   As Edwards wrote, we should be focused on seeking God, not seeking something from God.  Too often our prayers become a To-Do list for God rather than an opportunity to praise Him and thank Him for Who He is and what He has done.  And too often our To-Do list is offered before we take the time to confess our sins in order to remove barriers that have separated us from the One to Whom we bring our list.  How arrogant of us to think this to be acceptable.

In Psalm 63 David expresses praise for God when he was in the wilderness of Judah running for his life.  He didn’t lead off his prayer with “smite my enemies.”  He offered up praise to God knowing that God would deal with the problems he was facing.  In fact, he says just that in the last three verses.

Psalm 63

A psalm of David – at a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah.

1 O God, you are my God;

I earnestly search for you.

My soul thirsts for you;

my whole body longs for you

in this parched and weary land

where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in your sanctuary

and gazed upon your power and glory.

3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself;

how I praise you!

4 I will praise you as long as I live,

lifting up my hands to you in prayer.

5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast.

I will praise you with songs of joy.

6 I lie awake thinking of you,

meditating on you through the night.

7 Because you are my helper,

I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.

8 I cling to you;

your strong right hand holds me securely.

9 But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin.

They will go down into the depths of the earth.

10 They will die by the sword

and become the food of jackals.

11 But the king will rejoice in God.

All who swear to tell the truth will praise him,

while liars will be silenced.

May we go to God in prayer – praising and honoring our Lord and Savior – knowing that when “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” the needs we have will be met by the One Who loves us and wants to do our To-Do list.

One more thing – often that To-Do list seems rather insignificant once we enter into the presence of the Holy God.  For when we delight ourselves in the Lord He will give us the desires of our heart.  However, our desires change when we delight ourselves in the Lord.  His desires become our desires and His To-Do list becomes our To-Do list.  And isn’t that what we really want – to do His will?

A Dream Ended on a Mountain Road: The Cyclists and the ISIS Militants (NY Times)

This is a story of an amazing journey that ended so tragically. This couple lived life adventurously and found great comfort in the people who generously offered home and transportation and dry clothes when they so desperately needed them However, there is something that Mr. Austin wrote that strikes deeply at my heart. He said, “Evil is a make-believe concept we’ve invented to deal with the complexities of fellow humans holding values and beliefs and perspectives different than our own” He wrote of times when they had been mistreated along the way, but he never came to understand that evil is real. We should all learn a lesson from the lives of these two adventurers. Evil is real and so are the fruits of the Spirit of God – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. In James 1:20 we read that “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Martin Luther Kind, Jr. exapnded on that verse when he said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” Evil is real, but it cannot be eradicated by evil acts and hateful retributions. Only love can do that and specifically, the love of Christ.

Evil is real and those of you who know the truth of Jesus Christ must “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:10-18) You must love because “love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8) “Hatred stirs up strife but love covers all sins.” (Proverbs 10:12) “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” (1Peter 3:9) There’s no better way to combat the real and present evil in this world that with the love of Christ.

So go forth – explore the world – but go forth in the truth of Christ, knowing that evil is real and moreover that God’s love is superior. Amor vincit Omnia.

A guest blog from my wife

All the smart and/or cool people agree:

“The cure for all the ills and wrongs, the cares, the sorrows, and the crimes of humanity, all lie in the one word ‘love’. It is the divine vitality that everywhere produces and restores life.”
~ Lydia M. Child