Like a Roaring Lion

Since its origins as a pagan religious festival in ancient Britain, Halloween has undergone more than one shift in its general reputation. The name itself comes from "All Hallow's Evening," a term which originated in the ninth century when--as happened with many ancient pagan celebrations--the old customs were Christianized. October 31 then changed from a night when the spirits of the dead were believed to walk the earth, into a holiday to honor the saints, or "hallowed ones."

By the mid-twentieth century, Halloween had lost most of its religious trimmings and--ghosts and witches being generally classified with fairies as things no one took seriously but which were fun to pretend to believe in--was considered mostly a night of harmless fun for children. In recent decades, as the real dangers implicit in occult activities have become more widely known, many Christians have opted to avoid the holiday altogether or to celebrate "All Saints' Evening" or "Harvest Festival" in non-spooky ways.

Whatever one's personal feelings about Halloween, no one who takes the Bible seriously can deny that evil spirits are real. 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV) says, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." The chapter from which this verse comes warns us also to beware of greed, pride, anxiety, and discouragement--all of which the devil will encourage in us to tempt us away from God's path. Whether our external circumstances are good or bad, Satan is constantly looking for any hint of wrong attitude within us--and if we fail to remain "self-controlled and alert," he may establish beachheads in our hearts before we know it.

No solidier in a war--especially a spiritual war--can afford to let his guard down.

When all life is a crush of frustration,
When success seems to give you the boot,
Beware of the tempter who lies in wait
To water each bitter root!

When all life is a string of successes,
When it seems everything's going well,
Beware of the tempter who lies in wait
To urge lazy heads to swell!

When all life is continual struggle,
When the challenge is getting you down,
Beware of the tempter who lies in wait
To lure you to Give-Up Ground!

When you sit down to rest from the battle,
As we all must at times now and then,
Beware of the tempter who lies in wait
And urges, "Don't go back in!"

All your life, through the sad times and happy,
He will stalk you to make you his prey;
But fear not: just trust in your mighty Lord
Who drives the tempter away!

Glimpses of Glory

Yesterday's entry touched on the concept of "be faithful with little things and God will trust you with bigger and bigger things." We understand how that principle works in connection with responsibilities, abilities, and property; but how many of us consider that it also applies to what God shows us of Himself? Most believers have, at one time or another, felt cheated because they didn't get to live in the times--rare as such times were even in Biblical history--when spectacular miracles and visions of God's glory apparently happened every day. (I'm not talking here about the skeptics who say they'd believe in God if they actually saw Him perform a miracle--and remain smugly satisfied that they never will--but about sincere Christians who struggle with doubts and uncertainties.)

Not that, if we did see obvious miracles, it would necessarily prove a permanent cure for doubts and complaining--anyone who thinks it would should read the book of Exodus again. Too many of us are so busy whining that God never breaks into our lives in spectacular ways, that we're blind to the little glimpses of Himself He provides every day. When was the last time most of us contemplated God's craftmanship in a wildflower, or thanked Him for giving us air to breathe, or realized that He inspires the small kindnesses others show us?

If we can't worship God in the little things, we have no right to demand He show us big things.

Does God still work His wonders?
Lift up your eyes and see:
Observe the sky at sunrise,
The branches of a tree,
The might of wind and thunder,
And you will know: each hour,
Each aspect of Creation,
Gives glimpses of God's power.

Does God still care for mortals?
Take heart and look around:
Count every tiny blessing
That in each life is found;
Observe how rain and sunshine
Flow freely from above:
Each aspect of Provision
Gives glimpses of God's love.

Can there be hope for mortals
When all the world seems dark?
Look deep within your being,
And feel the Spirit's spark:
We all still bear God's image,
The breath of life He's given;
And every heartfelt longing
Gives glimpses of His Heaven.

Life That Counts

The program title and topic are long lost to my memory, but I clearly remember the "two key questions" the speaker asked:

1. If you knew you would die in a year, how would you invest your available time?
2. Why aren't you investing it that way now?

These are not questions for which most people should be satisfied with the first answers that come to mind. To illustrate why not, my personal "first answers" were: 1) I would try to cram in every book, trip, and activity I ever wanted to experience; 2) I am doing it that way already--and probably shortening my available time with the self-inflicted stress that comes from constantly thinking in terms of "when will I finish this so I can start on the next item?" But behind the cynicism and frustration that haunts so many of us in this area, lies the fact that most people spend their lives neglecting their dreams for more "practical"--and boring--matters.

It's strange how afraid we are of the deeply significant and the breathtakingly beautiful. One can understand why people procrastinate on starting boring or unpleasant tasks; but why do the majority behave the same way when it comes to the things they should want most? "I'd like to use the wedding china for dinner, but I suppose I should wait for a special occasion." "I really feel called to this ministry, but I should wait until I have more in savings." "I could write a great book, but I just don't have the time now." "I really should give my life to God, but there's plenty of time for that."

The "plenty of time" excuse is heard so often that one wonders if most human beings expect their earthly lives to last forever. Some apparently do; there are people who take seriously the idea of scientifically extending life spans to several hundred years, perhaps prolonging life indefinitely. But what would they do with those extra centuries? Anything more significant than the working-at-a-dull-job, just-surviving-day-to-day existence of today's typical American?

The Bible says (e. g. Luke 16:11) that few people are trusted with big things until they have proven themselves able to handle little things. It's safe to assume that those "things" include not only money and abilities, but hours and years as well.

And it's also safe to assume that God doesn't give us our dreams to be wasted.

There are those who dream of an endless youth
That their science may soon create,
Those who wish to live for a thousand years
Or forever evade death's gate.
But it's not a question of when you die
That tells what to your life amounts;
And it's not the time that you have to use,
But the way it is used, that counts.

God allots to each every hour of life,
And He knows just how much you need;
And ten selfless years have more life in them
Than ten decades of idle greed.
So take all your time and then use it well;
Live each day like you had but one
On this earth--but look to eternity,
And pray, "Lord, may Your Kingdom come!"

Witnesses

The New Testament repeatedly commands us to be "witnesses" for Jesus and the Gospel. Perhaps the best-known passage on this matter is Acts 1:8b, where the risen Christ tells His disciples, "you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (NIV).

It's been noted that there is a difference between witnesses and lawyers! Lawyers are the subject of many bad jokes because too many of them rush into court on the slightest excuse; hamper direct communication between the parties most involved; paint opponents in the worst possible colors; try to goad people into looking stupid; and overall seem to thrive on picking fights. Some so-called Christian evangelists behave similarly--and likewise draw down ridicule by association on more humble and compassionate preachers.

When called to court as a witness, how is the average citizen advised to behave? Go in looking respectable and intelligent; be polite even to people who try to annoy or confuse you; never lose your temper; answer all questions truthfully and concisely; and tell only what you know, without making unwarranted assumptions, volunteering irrelevant information, or pretending expertise you don't have. Those aren't bad principles for the Christian witness to follow in everyday evangelism.

Remember the healed blind man in John 9? Faced with a hostile crowd demanding to know what he thought of Jesus--about Whom he really knew relatively little--he didn't hurl insults back at them. He didn't knuckle under to their pressure. He didn't pretend he was capable of arguing complicated theological points. He simply held firmly to what he knew--and that was enough to enable him to bear up under any abuse:

"One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" (v. 25).

We all of us are witnesses
To what our hearts believe;
It shows in all we do and say
And pass out and receive.
We all of us are witnesses
Through all our earthly days,
And everyone whose life we touch
Soon knows what "god" we praise.

Our tongues can serve as witnesses,
But even more our deeds;
For how we act when pressure strikes
Speaks louder than our creeds.
Our actions are our witnesses
To all our thoughts within;
They show the world our inner hearts
And bring out secret sin.

We, called to be Christ's witnesses,
Must walk along His way,
And trust His Word to be our Guide
For all we do and say.
His Spirit leads His witnesses
And strengthens them to be
Ambassadors of Kingdom love
For His eternity!

The Stars above Sing the Might of the Lord

The following poem is a pantoum, which means that its basic structure is built on the repetition of lines. In poetry and song, a surprising amount of variety and beauty can be generated by using certain elements over and over.

Perhaps that's an example of how human creativity reflects God's image. Much of Creation's beauty is surprising in its consistency. Have you ever wondered what it would be like if the sky showed a totally different number and layout of stars every night? What if the sun rose in a different part of the sky each morning, birds changed their feathers and songs from day to day, and rainbows regularly shuffled and intermixed their colors? Would we appreciate the variety? Or get bored quickly, as do many spoiled children showered with endless toys?

Maybe our reaction would be uneasiness; it might be hard to believe that "the Father of the heavenly lights... does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17, NIV) if He kept rearranging those "heavenly lights" drastically and obviously. If He regularly changed His mind about how His firmament should look, who's to say He might not change His mind about more complicated matters, such as whether to keep His promises to us? Even on the human-to-human relational level, it's a lot easier to trust someone who is basically consistent than someone who has a history of unpredictable reactions.

Granted, people who always tell the same stories or keep harping on the same theme are boring. But even more than with poetry, human beings display a surprising amount of variety within their consistency. And a surprising amount of depth within the basics.

God is even more like that. Maybe that's why it's a lot harder to get bored exploring nature than watching television.

You don't hear many people complaining about "having to look at the same old stars tonight."

The stars above sing the might of the Lord:
Though they have no voice at all to give sound,
They speak of His power without a word,
For their beauty is seen the world around.

Though they have no voice at all to give sound,
Their praise shines out plain to all eyes that will see,
For their beauty is seen the world around,
And they speak of great wonders still yet to be.

Their praise shines out plain to all eyes that will see,
Through the mark of the Power on which they depend;
And they speak of great wonders still yet to be,
On the day when the world that we know will end.

Through the mark of the Power on which they depend,
Human hearts can dream of a world to be;
On the day when the world that we know will end,
Greater joys await than our eyes now see.

Human hearts can dream of a world to be,
Yet without God's Word we would never know;
Greater joys await than our eyes now see,
For He Who prepares them has told us so.

Yet without God's Word we would never know;
Only through His love do we dare to dream,
For He Who prepares them has told us so,
Of a world beyond where pure joy will gleam.

Only through His love do we dare to dream,
And the light of His love outshines the stars;
Of a world beyond where pure joy will gleam,
We all have His Word of what will be ours.

And the light of His love outshines the stars--
They speak of His power without a word--
We all have His Word of what will be ours.
The stars above sing the might of the Lord.

We Are Children of God

How many of us can honestly claim to follow, with any consistency, Paul's admonition in Phil. 2:3: "in humility consider others better than yourselves" (NIV)?

The era of oppressive colonialism may be over. Literal slavery may be history in most of the world. And officially sanctioned segregation may be rare. But bigotry is still far from dead--and it's not confined to extremists who spew hatred and advocate brutality. Nor is it always a matter of one ethnic group or social class considering itself too good to associate with another; the "I'm better than they are" attitude can manifest itself in a thousand ways. When someone is trying to maneuver a wheelchair through a narrow door ahead of us, and we fume because our time is being wasted; when we look at the homeless person on the street, or the arrogant teenager in the store, and see an annoyance rather than a human being; even when we're tempted to push past a dozen people "just like us" and grab the first place in line--we are in effect declaring ourselves a superior breed. One doesn't have to show consideration and compassion to one's inferiors!

If Christ had harbored that attitude, He never would have left Heaven for earth. Indeed, He spent most of His earthly ministry in conflict with people who did harbor that attitude and who "muttered, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them'" (Luke 15:2). It wasn't the "bad apples" and the "rejects," but the pious, and "respectable" types--the "good" people--who most hated the Epitome of true moral perfection. The puncturing of their superiority bubbles was more than their pride could take.

The Crucifixion is the ultimate proof that "little" attitudes of superiority can grow into monstrous evils.

We are children of God, whether black or white,
All of us equal in His sight.

We are children of God, whether rich or poor,
All of us standing at His door.

We are children of God, whether young or old,
All who are gathered into His fold.

We are children of God; we must not despise
Other souls precious in His eyes.

Storms and Rainbows

It's rained quite a bit in Houston the last couple of days--not an entirely unwelcome turn in the weather, considering that the area has dried out a little too much for comfort since last month's hurricane and that the whole of 2008 has been shorter than average on rain. The modern tendency to use "rain" as a metaphor for hard times and misery tends to forget how essential rain really is--and that in the Bible, "rain" is a good thing at least as often as not. Jesus's famous words from Mt. 5:45--"your Father in heaven... causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (NIV)--probably refers not to a blessing versus a curse, but to two complementary blessings.

Still, rain (like sun) can quickly turn into a curse when it arrives in seemingly unlimited amounts. Just about everyone has heard of Noah's flood; and in the same Sermon on the Mount where Jesus mentioned the rain's falling on the just and the unjust, He told the parable of the wise and foolish builders, where rain causes rough times if not total catastrophe.

Incidentally, the famous quote "Into each life some rain must fall" is not from the Bible, but from the nineteenth-century poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Longfellow knew his share of "rain"; twice widowed, he carried for his last twenty years burn scars from the same fire that killed his second wife. Virtually everyone who lives a normal life span will experience at least one real tragedy at some time. For some, the agony is sudden, wrenching, and totally unexpected; for others, it is so long and drawn-out that the tragic end is almost a relief.

It's comforting to know that for Christians, tragedy is never the real ending. A happy final ending is waiting beyond this world.

As the rainbow that was created after Noah's flood symbolizes God's promise never again to send such total catastrophe, the rainbow surrounding God's Heavenly Throne is a sign that no "flood" will ever again reach His servants there.

It rained in the time of Noah
Forty days and as many nights,
Till the mountains were under water
As it rose to unheard-of heights,
And it washed away earth's corruption;
So God gave a fresh start to all:
And He set in the sky a rainbow,
To bring hope after each rainfall.

It rained in the time of Jesus
Over many a shore and coast,
Leaving many a house in shambles
To give lie to the builder's boast.
Jesus told us to choose foundations
Made of rock to withstand the storm:
Human spirits are filled with rainbows
When we trust Christ to save from harm.

It rains in each life that's human,
Through real weather and floods of pain,
Till some feel life is drowned forever,
Blown to shambles by hurricane.
But what first seems to be disaster
Can bring cleansing to start anew,
If we look to God's Heavenly Rainbow
And stand strong in His Light so true.