Some thoughts on Kim Davis

I wonder if Kim Davis ever wanted to be on TV? As everybody knows, she is the Kentucky Court Clerk who refused to grant a marriage license to a homosexual couple. That got her on TV for the last couple of weeks. Naturally, I’ve been thinking about this.

The Government
How did the government respond to Kim Davis? Arrested her. Seems to me to be a little over the top. I realize she broke the law, but other government officials have broken the law or not upheld the law and have not been arrested immediately. Consider Lois Lerner. She was the Internal Revenue Service official who was illegally harassing conservative political groups. She broke the law, was never arrested, and was allowed to retire and receive a pension! She was questioned but refused to cooperate. Never arrested. Kim Davis was arrested and no bail was set. The judge said there were groups who would pay her bail so he wouldn’t set one. What? Since when does the judge care how you get the money together? We know that the current darling law of the government is homosexual marriage. And we know that conservative Christians oppose this. The government wants to stifle all resistance and here was an opportunity to make an example of those (Christians) who resist. I don’t think she was singled out per se (Let’s get Kim Davis), or that Christians were targeted, but it was a perfect opportunity to stifle resistance to their beloved new direction.

The Clerk
Kim Davis is a Christian who objects to homosexual marriage and, because of this religious conviction, chose not to issue marriage certificates to homosexual couples. Officials offered her an alternative, You may refuse but let one of your staff issue them. She rejected this offer. I don’t know Kim Davis, so I don’t know why she refused, but I admit, the offer sounds reasonable to me. It may be her objection was, My name is on the certificate no matter who issues it. I don’t know.

The Reaction
I was amazed at the reaction when this hit the news. I refer to social media. Anger. Venom. Hatred. If there were still coliseums with lions . . . Then there was the regional bigotry: She looks so stupid, just like Kentucky; Look how she dresses, she’s so stupid; Those backwater Kentucky people are so stupid. These personal attacks came from people who would have had a cow if Kim Davis had been quoted  saying something like that. Interesting.

Ah, then there are those people who cried, “It’s the law, she has to do it.” The law is suddenly sacrosanct. Inviolable. Really? Let’s consider immigration. Every level of government ignores immigration laws. And when the state of Arizona was enforcing the immigration laws on the books, the federal government rebuked and threatened the Governor of Arizona. Were these people screaming, “It’s the law!” No. But then, gay marriage is a cherished law, and this law must be enforced with all haste. Civil disobedience has a long history in the US and when it is carried out against nuclear facilities, or a war, or Wall Street, it’s cool. But not in this case. “It’s the law”.


This incident is enlightening. It’s one of many recent incidents that reveal the direction of the country. And in my opinion, it’s only going to get worse. Pastors and churches are likely to be targeted before long. The train has left the station, man, get on board or get slammed. And what about all these “tolerance loving” people? Another example that tolerance is a one way street. Woe to the Christian who stands for righteousness and calls sin sin. But then, this really isn’t new. The Apostle Peter, speaking by the Holy Spirit, forewarned us, Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.

These are trying times. How are we supposed to respond to laws we believe to be unrighteous? What if the law says you can't give birth at home? can't homeschool? can't breastfeed in public? can't teach your children about Jesus? You say, "Now you're just being ridiculous, there are no laws like that." Really? You need to get out more. We need wisdom. And boldness.

We ought to obey God rather than men.

That Pestiferous Virginia Creeper

That Pestiferous Virginia Creeper

This morning I went around the backyard cutting down plants that I didn’t want growing in my yard. I had noticed a plant with bright green leaves growing in the grass next to a dogwood and had mowed it down a couple of times, but it came back with alarming speed. Today I decided to put an end to this and began plucking it up. It was Virginia Creeper and it had runners all through that part of the yard. I’m talking serious runners.

This is 10-12 feet long!

Earlier this summer I had pulled it out of the shrubbery and thought maybe I had taken care of it. Ha! I think all I did was make it angry and it attacked the yard with a vengeance. Here is a photo of all the runners I plucked up from the yard.

I think pestiferous is an apt description. As is pernicious and malevolent. I think it is evil. Or perhaps it is better to say it is a good illustration of evil and sin – where you see the leaf is not necessarily where it came from; it will send out a runner a long way, getting well rooted before the leaf pops up. How do you deal with it? Carefully pull up the runners until you get to the root. (I guess I could spray it with something, but since I don’t use pesticides I’m left with my method ☺).

I dealt with pestiferous this morning, what did you do?

Do you ever think about time?

I was sitting in a chair on the beach. I was separated from the others, sitting close to the water so I could keep an eye on Ryan and Chase (and Dan, too!). Drew, my soon-to-be-thirteen year old grandson, plopped a chair down next to me and sat down. Do you ever think about time?

I replied, “All the time.” He laughed. It took me a moment to realize what I had said.

Then we discussed time: What is it? Is it real or an illusion? Clocks and more. What a neat thing it was to discuss something I’m fascinated by with my grandson!!

And, as it is with all good discussions, I continued to think about it afterwards. I must confess, while I did explain that God created time, I didn’t say anything about Genesis. But it did come to mind later.

Genesis 1:14-18
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:  
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.  
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.  
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,  
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

God created time, and the markers for time: the sun, the moon, and the stars. This passage mentions day, night, seasons, and years. The moon rules the night and is also the marker for the month. Natural time, or time in nature, is the day, the night, the month, the seasons (solstice and equinox), and the year.

Early man was keenly aware of this and many ancient structures were built based on the movement of the sun. Did I say many, I mean a lot. While ancient people were aware of this, sadly, we have calendars and are unaware of the movement of the sun and moon. Many of us barely even notice the new and full moon.

Then there is the seven day week. Where does this come from? You cannot come to this from the movement of the sun or moon, and yet it is recognized worldwide. God established it when he created the world: six days of creating, one day of rest.

What about the calendar and the clock? These are man-made. But the calendar is based on the sun (year), the moon (months), and the seven days of creation (week). The clock, on the other hand, is an arbitrary division of the day into smaller units (hours, minutes, seconds). When you are away from clocks, you are not aware of hours and minutes, but you are aware of time – the movement of the sun across the sky, the lateness of the day, the onset of night. If you are separated from the clock and calendar long enough, you are aware of day, night, month, season, and year, but you will have no idea of the hour, and without effort on your part, you will not know the day of the week.

Time is real and I’m fascinated by it. The earth tirelessly rotates and revolves around the sun. The moon orbits the earth. Day and night and month and season and year, creation never wearies in its obedience to the Creator. It silently obeys whether I pay attention or not. And yet, how glorious it is when I pay attention!

I love the questions my grandchildren ask me!

The Revelation of Jesus Christ (part 2)

As I wrote earlier, “I planned to read the Book of Revelation for my vacation study. At the last minute I refined it – I decided to see how Revelation describes Jesus Christ.” My plan was to glide through the book looking for the names and titles ascribed to Jesus. This brought an extra blessing, rather than being absorbed in the details, I was able to see the big picture.

I used to say about the book of Revelation, “This is not a catalog of end time events, it's a revelation of Jesus Christ.” Doesn’t that sound good? I based my opinion on the first verse of chapter one, The Revelation of Jesus Christ… I had to change my mind a little. What did I see in my week of reading?

1. The book opens up with this statement, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass. While the book is not simply a catalog of end time events, it was given to show us things which must come to pass. It is not my intention to interpret the events described in the book, I’m simply pointing out that the book does describe events which must shortly come to pass.

2. As I said, I used to declare that the book was a revelation of Jesus Christ. And that's how I approached my reading of it my week of vacation. But my reading revealed something I guess I hadn't noticed before. Jesus is an important figure in the book, and plays a key role in the end time events described herein, but Jesus is not the central or dominant character. God is. This book reveals to us that God is in control, that God has a plan, and that God will see to it that his plan is carried out. I think this explains why there are a few chapters (4,8,9,10,18) that do not mention Jesus at all, while no chapter goes without mentioning God. Before any events happen on earth, we have a vision of heaven. And there is the encouragement for us, God is on the throne, God is in control.

3. And this is one of the main purposes of the book, to offer encouragement. No matter what is going on around us, God is on the throne. If our lives now can look and feel like things are out of control, just imagine the days of the end: there are seals opened, trumpets blasting, vials poured out, Antichrist, wars, persecutions - it certainly looks and feels like things are totally out of control. But be of good courage: God is on the throne! This is why worship is mentioned so often throughout the book. And oh how rich is this worship!

4. Flowing out of this encouragement is the exhortation to keep the faith. This book describes a time when the beast will make war on the saints and overcome them. Tribulation, persecution, and martyrdom are recurring themes. But the saints, despite being persecuted, harried, and martyred, overcome the devil and the beast and the world by their faith. They are described as those who keep the faith, have the testimony of Jesus and hold the faith of Jesus. The world thinks that if you die you lose. But this book tells us, that if you die and keep your faith, you win. You win big! So I suppose we could sum it up this way, “Don't you dare quit. You…keep...holding on.”

5. So if God is the main character of the book, where does Jesus fit into this? And who is this Jesus? He's the one who rose from the dead - I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. He is the Lamb: he has redeemed us from our sins by his blood; he has made us kings and priests unto God; he has restored us to God and made us the people of God. He is also the Prince of the kings of the earth; the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus is the one who brings to pass God's purpose: by his sacrifice he saves us and with his return he establishes God's kingdom on the earth. Amen. He also describes himself with some of the same words used by God. God is described as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Jesus calls himself, the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. This is why Jesus is also worshiped throughout this book. Ah, this book is a revelation of Jesus: he is the Lamb; he is the one who rose from the dead; he is the root and offspring of David; he is the Alpha and the Omega; he is the King of kings and Lord of Lords. He is to be worshiped!

So, don’t get lost in the trumpets and seals, the two witnesses and the beast, and Babylon the great. See God on the throne, and Jesus, the Lion and the Lamb. Keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. And worship him who sits on the throne, and the Lamb that was slain!

And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

It is what it is

I was texting a friend the other day and he mentioned that he wasn’t feeling good. I said, “Sorry to hear you’re not feeling good. May tonight and tomorrow be better.” He replied, “It is what it is.”

It is what it is. That ranks up there in my Top Ten Least Favorite Sayings.

I Googled “it is what it is” and this is what came back: “A phrase that seems to simply state the obvious but actually implies helplessness.”

And that’s why I don’t like the phrase. Helpless. Can’t do anything about it. Can’t change a thing. Whatcha gonna do?

Is this true? Are we stuck in our situation? Are we just to sit back and endure our circumstances, with no hope of deliverance or change?

No.

No!

NO!

I knew a man who used to come by the store on his break. We talked about the Lord and his church. A few months went by and I didn’t see him. One night he dropped in and we caught up. Sadly, his spiritual life had spiraled down since I last saw him. As we talked about it he said, “Oh, it is what it is.” I grew bold and said, “Not so. What if John the Baptist had preached, ‘Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand and you’re not ready’ and the Jews had responded, ‘Hey man, it is what it is.’ No, it is not. They were to repent, turn to God and change the way they were. There was hope.”

God has made promises to us. There is power. There is hope. Deliverance. Salvation. Grace. Mercy. Rescue. Amen!

“Wait. Hold on. We’re just talking about a cold.” Perhaps, but should we not trust the Lord for healing? Should we not expect to get better? hope to get better?

Or some other minor inconvenience. Like the time we headed to Ohio and I discovered I had forgotten my shoes. That’s right, I was headed to Ohio for a week and had no shoes. It is what it is, right? No, we stopped and bought some flip flops. I wasn’t willing to settle for what it was, I changed it.

What if I am powerless to change my circumstances? Do I then take refuge in, “It is what it is”? Hopeless, helpless, powerless.

This is exactly why I don’t like this expression. I am a Christian. I am not hopeless, helpless, powerless. Jesus is working in my life. “Call unto me and I will answer thee.” What if you are not a Christian? Not a believer in Jesus? “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” There is hope. There is help.

It is what it is. Well, that’s partly true. But, does what it is have to stay what it is? Nope. And I encourage everyone who is reading this and uses this phrase to lift your eyes to the Lord. Don’t settle for what is, trust the Lord for deliverance, salvation, rescue, transformation. Get rid of hopelessness and helplessness, there is hope in the Lord!

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, 

that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

I planned to read the Book of Revelation for my vacation study. At the last minute I refined it – I decided to see how Revelation describes Jesus Christ. This was interesting.

First, the different names and titles ascribed to Jesus and the number of times each one is used. If no number follows, it occurs only once.

Jesus Christ 3x
the faithful witness
the first begotten of the dead
the Prince of the kings of the earth
Alpha and Omega 2x
the first and the last 3x
the Lion of the tribe of Juda
the Root of David
Lamb 28x
Lord 2x
Christ 4x
Man child
Son of man 2x
Jesus 5x
Lord of lords and King of kings
King of kings and Lord of lords
faithful and true
the Word of God
the beginning and the end
the root and offspring of David
the bright and morning star
Lord Jesus
Lord Jesus Christ

Quite an impressive list! I noticed:
- Lamb is used nearly as many times as all the other titles combined
- the book opens with “Jesus Christ” and closes with “our Lord Jesus Christ”
- Jesus is not mentioned at all in chapters 4, 8, 9, 10, 18


Second, in addition to the descriptions of Jesus as a Lamb (as it had been slain), there are two extended descriptions of the Lord Jesus:

Revelation 1:12-16 Jesus’ appearance to John at the beginning of the book
And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

The elements of this vision are used in the letters to the seven churches (2-3).

Revelation 19:11-16 the second advent
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Amen!

All I really did was skim through the book, but it was encouraging, edifying, and enlightening. I was reminded: Jesus is a central figure in the Book of Revelation, and I can’t capture this in a brief blog post. I hope (and plan) to write about a couple of other things I noticed while reading through the book, things I hope will remove some of the fear that often accompanies the reading of The Revelation of Jesus Christ.

And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

The difference between religion and salvation

We always encourage and exhort you to do righteousness, live in holiness, walk in love. We are right to do so but I confess, it can be wearying – “Oh man, I have so much to do already, work, and bills, and yard work and family and and and … now I have to worry about righteousness and holiness and love.” If we are not careful then it can sound like our message is: Do. Do more. Do it better. This is religion.

We have a picket fence in our back yard. It is an unfinished wood fence. By the time we bought the house, it was dried and weathered, and some of the wood was bowing. A few years ago I painted it. This year I’m repainting it. It looks better – all white and bright, but underneath it’s the same old fence. Everyone who knew it before knows that.

That’s what religion is, sprucing up the outside but not changing the inside.

He also will hear their cry, and will save them. (v 19) Jesus promises salvation. It’s true, God calls us to do righteousness, live in holiness, walk in love, BUT, he has made great promises. He promises to work in us what he wants us to work out in our lives. He will righteoufy you so righteousness will flow from you. He will holify you so you can live holy. And he will pour out his love in your heart so you can walk in love. This is salvation. Cry out to him and he will save you!


~from my message on Psalm 145, Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.