A Clearer Picture

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Tuesday, December 12, 2017

He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble.          Luke 1:52^(NLT)

It has become agonizingly clearer in recent months just how deeply our culture is stained with Sodom and Gomorrah’s legacy.  Public figures are dropping like raindrops in a monsoon.  Just the tip of the iceberg is a list of the most well-known:

Politics:  Al Franken, Anita Hill (Clarence Thomas), Anthony Weiner, Roy Moore, and not to be forgotten, Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.

Hollywood: Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Dustin Hoffman, Bill O’Reilly, Matt Lauer

Education:  USC Medical School dean, Rohit Varma

Sports:  Mike Tyson, Jerry Sandusky (Penn State assistant coach who was convicted of molesting 10 boys over 15 years and is now in prison for 30-60 years)

Religion:  Jimmy Swaggert, Jim Bakker, Catholic Church priests, Ted Haggard

In most all of these cases, payoffs for the silence of the victims have been common.  This, unfortunately, turns a crime into de facto prostitution. 

It is without doubt impossible (in the space of a four-minute devotion) to trace the evolution of a society along the dark path of the powerful exploiting less-powerful individuals; how we got here is a long discussion.  And where do we go from here might be an even longer discussion.

But there is something we can say about this point in time to at least start the discussion; this is a path to which every generation has opened the door.

There are many Biblical passages that bear out the proclivity of the stronger abusing the weaker.  One particularly revealing incident is in 2 Samuel 13 which records the scheming of Jonadab and Absalom, two of King David’s relatives, so that Absalom could satisfy his lust and rape his relative Tamar.  May we not forget that David himself, with his lustful desire towards another man’s wife (Bathsheba) set a clear example for Absalom that he could have whatever he wanted.

From King David’s palace to Hugh Hefner’s Playboy mansion, God’s purely wonderful gift of sex has been abused, perverted and exploited.  It has also brought down empires and their rulers. 

In my opinion, the (so-called) sexual revolution of the 1960’s was not a revolution at all; it was merely the revelation, or coming-out of what has been mankind’s illness since the Garden of Eden.  The book of James describes it well:

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.  These desires give birth to sinful actions.  And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.  

James 1:14-15^(NLT)

The current flurry of powerful men (in particular) being brought down by accusations of sexual harassment is the endemic and epidemic harvest we are reaping from generations of sexuality being misunderstood and abused. 

And who’s to blame?

Men bear responsibility for objectifying women as sexual property, and women bear responsibility for pandering to the lust of men in order to get what they want.  That, in no way, represents God’s original intent for the beauty of the mutual giving sexuality affords within the context of monogamous marriage.

When we go outside of God’s plan the results are always disastrous.

For You Today

God never gave lust as a gift; that grows as a result of sin.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com

The Distress of Justice

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Thursday, November 16, 2017

After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.  The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal.  They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt.  They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them.  And they angered the Lord.  They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth.  This made the Lord burn with anger against Israel, so he handed them over to raiders who stole their possessions.  He turned them over to their enemies all around, and they were no longer able to resist them.  Every time Israel went out to battle, the Lord fought against them, causing them to be defeated, just as he had warned.  And the people were in great distress.  Judges 2:10-15^(NLT)

And I heard a voice from the altar, saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, your judgments are true and just.”                              Revelation 16:7^(NLT)

The justice system in America is arguably skewed at times, as is every other system created by the human race.  As my friend Phillip recently reminded me, Winston Churchill is attributed to have said something like:  Democracy is the worst form of government ever created…with the exception of every other form of government.

With all due respect to my friend, and the esteemed Mr. Churchill, there is one justice system that is true and just; its righteousness is never failing!  That system, of course, is the judgments of God.

Joshua led the nation of Israel to conquer the Promised Land after Moses’ death.  They occupied it under the leadership of God (theocracy) until Joshua died.  Then a new generation decided that serving Jehovah was outdated and old-school.  They got with the new program of being like the other nations and left God in the dust.

For Israel, bad became worse.  Their strength as a nation disappeared.  Their military was never enough.  Their infrastructures became compromised; superstructures and resources were hacked and stolen, and no leader could be trusted.  The whole nation was in severe distress.

Sound familiar?

I know it is dangerous to insert “America” into the target scheme of any prophecy or Biblical scenario, but when the shoe fits it is appropriate to wear it.  The trend in our culture is to trust in an idea of America as inherently good and all-powerful.  The problem in believing such is that we wind up attributing the nature of God to a national identity.  America is not, has never been, and will never be…GOD! 

The identity of a nation is comprised in the nature and character of the people who make up that nation.  According to Scripture (which has yet to be proven wrong), the character and nature of humans is corrupt, and has been so ever since Eden.  This is a fallen world…and, despite the flag-waving that has most of us rallying around the stars and stripes, that is our heritage…prone to wander; prone to leave the God we love.

And leave God behind we have…for the pragmatism of bigger stock markets, bigger walls, harsher conversations, and a national profile of yell louder if you sense you’re losing market share…at what cost?

The distress of God’s justice rolled-down on the heads of those who led Israel after Joshua passed.  I am not a prophet in the sense of being able to foretell the future, but I am student enough of history and Scripture to sense that we are at harvest time, and what we have been sowing, we shall certainly reap!

For You Today

“Distress” in true justice only falls on those who have attempted to thwart eternal sovereignty.  To avoid distress, bow before God, not Congress or Pennsylvania Avenue.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons