June 6th is the anniversary of D-day when 160,000 Allied troops landed in Normandy, France, in 1944. The invasion, involving five separate landings by American, British, and Canadian troops, was designed to develop a beachhead to prepare for the invasion of Germany. D-Day was a momentous day that changed the course of World War II, and in many respects modern history.
June 6th is another anniversary. This one took place in 1970 when a young couple fresh out of Bible College, Bob and Doris, entered into a marriage commitment and a life-long relationship. The commitment was attached to unconditional vows that had only one escape clause, “Until death do us part.” One of my “friends” shared at our wedding that it was an appropriate day for our wedding in view of the anniversary of D-Day. I guess he was implying, “Let the battles begin!” Actually, he may have more accurate than he was humorous.
Some who enter marriage have unrealistic expectations concerning marriage thinking it is a bed of roses. To those with that delusion, I remind them that the stem of the rose has more thorns that can cause pain than flowers that can bring pleasure. Some couples never expect that there will be battles to face and victories to be won in a marriage. Doris and I have engaged in the battles, and God in His grace and power has allowed us to enjoy many victories (sometimes repeatedly in the same areas!). However, the battles are never over as long as two sinners saved by grace live in close proximity to one another.
Someone said, “I have seen the enemy and it is us.” In marriage, this is often where the most intense battles are fought – in me. One battle I have fought is selfishness. The tendency for people, even believers who are married, is to want to have things the way we want them and to have people see things like we see them. The way to have victory in this battle is a large dose of Philippians 2:3-4 – a commitment to “other-interest” rather than “self-interest.” Thank God He is available to give me the grace at times to get my eyes off myself. This needs to be my daily goal.
Another battle that has been fought has to do with the maintenance of my love. Love is more than a feeling. Love is something I need to do and maintain (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Even the best intentioned love can grow casual and we can “leave our first love” (Revelation 2:4) and allow it to become “lukewarm” (Revelation 3:16). Love in marriage has to be worked at as we aspire to love our wife as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25). I have too often been carelessly preoccupied with other things so that my love has been less than it should be. If I am fervent in my love, my marriage benefits as “love will cover a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). When love is fervent in my marriage, I develop a better perspective and don’t focus on the small stuff.
The biggest battle in my marriage is for me to be under the control of the Spirit and not the flesh (see Galatians 5:16-26). When my walk with God is what it should be, my whole life, and especially my marriage, is impacted. When the Spirit is given the freedom to produce His fruit in me (5:22-23), my marriage is blessed. When I allow my sinful nature to dominate, I am asking for marriage problems. I daily need to remind myself to allow the Spirit to control my life.
I thank God for Doris, who has been faithful to her commitment these forty years, even when (as hard as it is to believe – right?) I have been difficult to live with. She has been and is a treasure to me. I thank God she never left the battlefronts that have cropped up in our marriage from time to time. I am so thankful that I am going away to celebrate D-Day for two weeks. By the way – for me D-Day means Doris-Day!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
"What Time Is It?"
It seems the question asked by so many people in our culture today is, “What time is it?” We are always “running out of time” and wondering with what’s left, "How can we squeeze in just a few more tasks before the next deadline?" We are so rushed with the pressures of life that we run around like the proverbial “chicken with its head cut off.” Life has become a 24/7 operation. People are always connected, unless they make an intentional decision to disconnect from their ever-connected world. Then, when in the state of "disconnection," they go through a withdrawal that might make them appear anxious, restless, or irritated.
In this perpetual state of "connectedness," we not only feel busy, we are busy with additional tasks, responses, and mental processing. We are rushed, so we abbreviate messages. We are pressured, so we manage people rather than relate to them. We are preoccupied, so some decisions are made more by emotion than by processing relevant data. We feel pressed into the agendas of others that have such free access to our lives any time they want to connect to us.
So much of Jesus' life was pressured by others too. He was so connected to people that Mark 6:31 said, “there were so many coming and going that they [the disciples] did not even have time to eat.” So Jesus invited the disciples to “disconnect” with him, saying, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” He “pulled the plug” on the opportunities to minister and “departed to a deserted place in a boat by themselves” (Mark 6:32). Jesus knew the nature of his creation, the frailties of those he called, and the personalities of those he loved. He concluded what they needed was “down time.” He did not want them connected to anything but him – thus the spiritual retreat.
Jesus made his decisions about his time with discernment. Often he said, “It is not time.” His doubting brothers said he should promote himself. He replied, “My time has not yet come… You go up to this feast. I am not yet going… for my time has not yet fully come.” (John 7:6-8). He was not letting people set his agenda because his life’s mission was “I do not seek my own will but the will of my Father who sent me” (John 5:30).
Time was invested by Jesus, not just used up. In the busyness of life he made time for fellowship with his Heavenly Father by “rising a long time before daylight, He went to a deserted place; and there he prayed” (Mark 1:32). Even in this setting he was pressured to engage in the agenda of others – “everyone is looking for you” (Mark1:37). However, his purpose for coming trumped the aspirations of others as he responded, “Let us go to the next towns that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come” (Mark 1:38). He lived to fulfill the mission God had for him – not that which others would impose upon him.
May we be carful to consider who is in control of our time. What should be our answer to the question, “What time is it?” If Christ is our model then the answer would be, “It is time to do the Father’s will and not be driven by the pressures and the aspirations of others." This may alter how we invest time and how we please or displease others.
In this perpetual state of "connectedness," we not only feel busy, we are busy with additional tasks, responses, and mental processing. We are rushed, so we abbreviate messages. We are pressured, so we manage people rather than relate to them. We are preoccupied, so some decisions are made more by emotion than by processing relevant data. We feel pressed into the agendas of others that have such free access to our lives any time they want to connect to us.
So much of Jesus' life was pressured by others too. He was so connected to people that Mark 6:31 said, “there were so many coming and going that they [the disciples] did not even have time to eat.” So Jesus invited the disciples to “disconnect” with him, saying, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” He “pulled the plug” on the opportunities to minister and “departed to a deserted place in a boat by themselves” (Mark 6:32). Jesus knew the nature of his creation, the frailties of those he called, and the personalities of those he loved. He concluded what they needed was “down time.” He did not want them connected to anything but him – thus the spiritual retreat.
Jesus made his decisions about his time with discernment. Often he said, “It is not time.” His doubting brothers said he should promote himself. He replied, “My time has not yet come… You go up to this feast. I am not yet going… for my time has not yet fully come.” (John 7:6-8). He was not letting people set his agenda because his life’s mission was “I do not seek my own will but the will of my Father who sent me” (John 5:30).
Time was invested by Jesus, not just used up. In the busyness of life he made time for fellowship with his Heavenly Father by “rising a long time before daylight, He went to a deserted place; and there he prayed” (Mark 1:32). Even in this setting he was pressured to engage in the agenda of others – “everyone is looking for you” (Mark1:37). However, his purpose for coming trumped the aspirations of others as he responded, “Let us go to the next towns that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come” (Mark 1:38). He lived to fulfill the mission God had for him – not that which others would impose upon him.
May we be carful to consider who is in control of our time. What should be our answer to the question, “What time is it?” If Christ is our model then the answer would be, “It is time to do the Father’s will and not be driven by the pressures and the aspirations of others." This may alter how we invest time and how we please or displease others.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Needed: A National Day of Prayer – Hezekiah Style
It is that time of the year again when our nation sets aside a National Day of Prayer. This practice finds its roots as far back as 1775 when the Continental Congress "designated a time for prayer in forming a new nation." Sprinkled throughout the nation’s history there have been calls for national days of prayer. The formalization of the practice came on April 17, 1952, when a bill proclaiming an annual National Day of Prayer (NDP) was unanimously passed by both houses of congress and President Truman signed it into law. It required the President to select a day for national prayer each year.
Further formalization of the practice occurred on May 5, 1988, when a bill introduced to Congress fixed the annual NDP at the first Thursday in May. The Senate bill, S 1378, was introduced by Strom Thurmond (R-SC); a matching House version was initiated by Tony Hall, (D-OH). With broad bipartisan sponsorship the bill became Public Law 100-307 and was signed into law by President Reagan. Regan noted, "On our National Day of Prayer, then, we join together as people of many faiths to petition God to show us His mercy and His love, to heal our weariness and uphold our hope, that we might live ever mindful of His justice and thankful for His blessing." Lately there has been some resistance developing concerning the NDP because of a secularist view that religious activity should not be a part of our national life – it should remain a purely private matter. Most recently, on April 15, 2010, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb has ruled the NDP was unconstitutional because it is "an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function." The ruling is under appeal.
In the Old Testament, King Hezekiah declared a National Day of Prayer in 2 Kings 19:1-4. He was wise enough to realize that when surrounded by enemy forces his nation needed prayer. The king humbled himself as he “tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went to the house of the Lord for prayer” (19:1). There he simply said, “This is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy… Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left” (19:3, 4). His approach was very different from 21st century practices used to try and gather a crowd to incite some prayer. There were no choirs, concessions, special speakers, tee shirts, prayer breakfasts, Bible reading marathons, and rallies – which appear valuable to secularized Christianity today. The recognition of desperation drove the desire for intercession. Perhaps there needs to be a similar awareness in the hearts and minds of people in our nation today.
There were national days of prayer that occurred spontaneously several years ago. The greater part of the nation, including the judiciary, voiced no opposition. People needed no coaxing to participate. People who had not prayed in years did. People who had not been in churches in years called to see if there was going to be a prayer time. With just hours notice, several hundred from the community gathered in our church for several hours to prayer. The date was September 11, 2001. Two airplanes hijacked by Islamic terrorists, intentionally crashed in the twin towers of the World Trade Center murdering 2,973 people. The nation’s sensibilities for a few months in 2001 were changed. Our country realized how vulnerable our nation was and how dangerous the enemy. In my mind, that was really a National Day of Prayer. People humbled themselves and approached the God of the universe to ask for His intervention in our nation.
Let’s not criticize a National Day of Prayer. Instead, let’s pray that a revival breaks out as our nation’s desperation is realized and we respond by coming to God with humility, confession, and genuine intercession.
Further formalization of the practice occurred on May 5, 1988, when a bill introduced to Congress fixed the annual NDP at the first Thursday in May. The Senate bill, S 1378, was introduced by Strom Thurmond (R-SC); a matching House version was initiated by Tony Hall, (D-OH). With broad bipartisan sponsorship the bill became Public Law 100-307 and was signed into law by President Reagan. Regan noted, "On our National Day of Prayer, then, we join together as people of many faiths to petition God to show us His mercy and His love, to heal our weariness and uphold our hope, that we might live ever mindful of His justice and thankful for His blessing." Lately there has been some resistance developing concerning the NDP because of a secularist view that religious activity should not be a part of our national life – it should remain a purely private matter. Most recently, on April 15, 2010, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb has ruled the NDP was unconstitutional because it is "an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function." The ruling is under appeal.
In the Old Testament, King Hezekiah declared a National Day of Prayer in 2 Kings 19:1-4. He was wise enough to realize that when surrounded by enemy forces his nation needed prayer. The king humbled himself as he “tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went to the house of the Lord for prayer” (19:1). There he simply said, “This is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy… Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left” (19:3, 4). His approach was very different from 21st century practices used to try and gather a crowd to incite some prayer. There were no choirs, concessions, special speakers, tee shirts, prayer breakfasts, Bible reading marathons, and rallies – which appear valuable to secularized Christianity today. The recognition of desperation drove the desire for intercession. Perhaps there needs to be a similar awareness in the hearts and minds of people in our nation today.
There were national days of prayer that occurred spontaneously several years ago. The greater part of the nation, including the judiciary, voiced no opposition. People needed no coaxing to participate. People who had not prayed in years did. People who had not been in churches in years called to see if there was going to be a prayer time. With just hours notice, several hundred from the community gathered in our church for several hours to prayer. The date was September 11, 2001. Two airplanes hijacked by Islamic terrorists, intentionally crashed in the twin towers of the World Trade Center murdering 2,973 people. The nation’s sensibilities for a few months in 2001 were changed. Our country realized how vulnerable our nation was and how dangerous the enemy. In my mind, that was really a National Day of Prayer. People humbled themselves and approached the God of the universe to ask for His intervention in our nation.
Let’s not criticize a National Day of Prayer. Instead, let’s pray that a revival breaks out as our nation’s desperation is realized and we respond by coming to God with humility, confession, and genuine intercession.
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