With Robes Not Torn

In Matthew 26:65 the high priest, Caiaphas, tore his robes when Jesus affirmed that He was indeed the messiah, the son of the Living God.  This is not the first instance of the tearing of one's robe in the face of grief or distress. Israel's kings often did it when confronted with a nation about to defeat them. Young King Josiah did it when he heard the word of the Lord concerning the sinful ways of Judah. Job did it when he was in grief over the loss of his family and seeming absence of God. But Dr. Larry Crabb points out that one group of people, priests, were not to ever tear their robes except in the face of blasphemy. Scriptures in Exodus 28,29 and Leviticus 10 and 21 indicate that priest were not to tear their robes in the face of distress or personal grief but only in the case of blasphemy. Even when Aaron's sons were killed he could not tear his robes in grief lest he too be killed. This is why Paul and Barnabas tore their robes in Acts 14 when the people in Lystra declared them to be gods. Paul, a rabbi, tore his robes to affirm his humanity and grieve the Lystrians blasphemy.

Why the harshness on priests? Do they not grieve as others at the loss of family and friends? Do they not face distressing circumstances and are they not human with the same needs and emotions? Yes, but the priest also had another calling. Once a year one of them would be chosen to go into the Holy of Holies and make atonement for all of Israel. He would sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat for the sins of the people and pray that God would accept their offering as an atonement for sin. The implication is that one who stands in the presence of God should never view any circumstance, no matter how dreadful, costly, distressing, and grievous as hopeless beyond the ability of God to bring salvation and relief. The Apostle Paul put it this way, "we do not grieve as those who have no hope" (I Thess. 4:13).

The implications for the church are especially relevant in the light of so many problems which plague our world. With wars, disease, poverty, wild fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, drugs, terrorists, job troubles, relationship troubles and brussel sprouts, it is understandable if we went about in distress with our robes figuratively torn because of our grief. I haven't even mentioned the ultimate nemisis, death. But we in the church join others and feel for ourselves the weight of these painful demons and problems loosed in our world. Yet, we are not to tear our robes. Wait, you say, we're not priests. Yes, you are. Eph. 4:11-12 tells us all believers are ministers. Revelation 1:6, 5:10 and 20:6 reminds us that we are indeed a kingdom of priests. And Hebrews 10:19 informs us that all believers can confidently enter into the Most Holy Place, the presence of God, through the blood of Jesus. Therefore, even in the face of horror, disease, and even death we, in essence, do not tear our robes. We greive, we hurt, we cry, we ask why, but never without hope, never without the very presence of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We ared pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecutied, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. (II Cor. 4: 7-10)

As believers, our hearts can ache and break. As believers, our minds can frazzle and our emotions fume but we do so with robes not torn for our robes are robes of righteousness, whole and complete in the salvation of Christ.

Hole-y, wholly, Holy,
Cos

Christian Reactions to OBL's Death

I have heard people make the connection between Sept, 11, 2001 and May 8, 2011 by saying we will never forget where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news of both events. The first date was met with horror, disbelief, anger, rage, sadness, resolve and grief. The news of OBL's death evoked joy, relief, euphoria, hope (for more peace), and regret that it took so long. All of this led to fist pumping, spontaneous celebrations at ballgames, in taverns, and in the streets. The USA's no. 1 enemy had been destroyed which prompted the impromptu  parties.

My own immediate reaction was a shout of "whoopee, we got him!" My next reaction followed on its heals with a more somber question: "should I yelp for joy at the death of a human being, who from all my understanding of God and His word is now in hell for eternity?" I answered my question with polarized clarity: yes and no. "Yes," because a conduit of demonic evil was eliminated. OBL was a mass murderer, a radical religious fanatic with no compassion for any but those that fit his narrow definitions of proper belief and action. He was no friend to any religion but his own brand and was obviously murderously intolerant of any he believed unfit. The world is better off without him. Period.

So why any sympathy or feeling of misgivings at OBL death at all? Actually, there were few for the man himself. A feeling of melancholy did waft over my soul at the whole thought of war and death. God didn't intend for OBL to be the way he was. He made choices. He saw things he didn't like and acted and reacted with evil. His ego got in the way. I have done all these things myself to some degree. OBL obviously had intelligence and leadership capabilities. These qualities were wasted unless you view things from a demonic standpoint of hatred for anyone not like you. The loss of such potential for good is saddening but this was lost long before a bullet brought an end to his life.  Ahh, what could have been...

 And honestly, I was somewhat repulsed by some of the reaction in America at the news of OBL's death. Understandable to a point, but death and war and the crafts we have honed to win at these are serious. I remember the gut wrenching agony of seeing the dismembered bodies of our servicemen dragged through the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia and the celebrations that were spawned by that horror in the Arab world. I also recall the street dancing and flag burning in radical Islam enclaves after 9-11. Some in the US looked no different, I'm sure, to the Muslim community when those news tapes were shown on their tv's last Monday. I guess I'd like to believe we are different and we don't gloat over death, even the death of evil. We do away with it and move on quietly. Let the SEALs clank a glass in their private remembrance for a job well done with the thanks of a grateful nation. Then they as a team and we as a nation move on to the next assignment. We do this because we know that even though OBL is dead, evil is not. It will have to be faced again.

So what is the next assignment? I have no authority over the SEALS, the nation, or any person to give them one. Let me just tell you some assignments I've made to myself.
One is to be humble in the face of evil, or, when I should prove victorious at some points, in the aftermath of victory. James 4:10 admonishes us to humility and Proverbs 27:21 reminds us that a man is tested by the praise he receives. Spiritual victories are hard fought (see the cross) and possible only by the grace of God--so be humble.
Another assignment is prayer. I need to remain vigilant in prayer for evil is real and present in this world. It affects all of us and even all of nature (Rom 3:23, Rom. 6:23, and Rom. 8:21-22.). I need to pray for the end of evil and the death of death. This only comes by the power of God's grace and love. All other battles against it fought by weapons forged by the hands of man will bring fleeting victories at best. In the recorded history of man, only seven years have passed without some of us in the world fighting with others. So be prayerful for our nation which has lost its way on so many levels. Freedom and justice cannot be secured nor maintained without a connection to righteousness. Pray for justice and freedom for the nations.

Related to prayer is another assignment--be evangelistic. We never know when our sharing with another human being about our faith in Christ might prevent all manners of evil down the road in that person's life. Jesus changes hearts. He transforms lives. He changes people's destiny from hell to heaven. Walking with Jesus in a relationship of faith brings peace, joy, and hope to a person's life for now and forever more. Did OBL ever hear the real salvation story of Jesus? Did he ever  really see Jesus or just another religion that he didn't like that he viewed as one needing to be eradicated for his to succeed? I don't know but I do know Jesus still saves. Pray and witness to the lost. You may prevent an Columbine, a 911, a divorce, a murder, a suicide or an empty life by sharing Jesus with another soul. We may not ever know now, but someday we will.

The last assignment I'll share today is this: be grateful. Be grateful that God sent His son to offer eternal life to those who trust in Him. Be grateful that God changes lives. Be grateful for His grace and truth. Be grateful for freedoms won and freedoms held. Be grateful to men and women who fight for us, pray for us, share Christ's truth with us and model grace and freedom for us. And be grateful that in the end, the living and true God revealed in Jesus-wins.

Cos

Losing Words

A odd truth reveals itself every year about this time, it seems that the task for writing something meaningful about Easter grows larger and larger. It is not the bare facts of the Cross\Resurrection events or the baseline meaning of them that is hard. It's not a lessening of the appreciation for and the joy which continue to grow at the thought of Jesus' resurrection.  But as I grow older and become more aware of my own sin and the enormity of the sacrifice Jesus took to save me from myself  and the world from itself, then the meaning behind the facts of Easter leave me more and more speechless. I can say the same for the Incarnation, for that matter. Consider that God- Holy, Creator, and Ruler of the Universe loves His creation to the point of sacrifice; withholds judgment to the point of absurdity in hope of eliciting a loving response, and opens His greatest treasure (knowing Him deeply) to former rebels who can by faith, become lovers of Him and His Kingdom- Remarkable! How do mere words from a finite creature begin to capture one scintilla of the love and grace of God?!?

They can't. And the truth is I seem to be losing words even while the appreciation grows deeper. In writing about Easter one tries to explain the unimaginable, come to grips with the unfathomable, understand the infinite and communicate it all with words and sentences that are all too ordinary. The longer I am a Christian and the longer I contemplate what Christ has done the bigger Easter grows. It doesn't become something that grows smaller and more understandable with time and study and living. Jesus' awe, beauty, wonder and sacrificial love only multiply. Words fail me.

Another problem encountered in seeking out the Unsearchable is the frame of reference. We have never lived in a world that hasn't known resurrection power. We have ignored it, misused it, and abused it but we have never lived in a world that hasn't had someone, somewhere proclaiming that Jesus lived, died for mankind's sin, and rose from the grace defeating death. You and I can't imagine a world without hope. We have all faced or known situations and circumstance that gave no hope for that slice of time. Maybe it was hunger in Somalia,  fires in west Texas, tornadoes in the south, war in the middle east, bears on Wall Street, shootings on the border, war, job loss,  cancer or a thousand other evils in this broken world that took away hope for that moment in time.  But even in the most horrific circumstances that focus our fear on the hands of the clock in front of us, we have always, since the resurrection, had nailed scarred hands pointing us toward eternity . John Lennon wrote, "... imagine there no heaven...it's easy if you try..." No, John, I'm sorry, but for the Christian that fluffy sentiment has become impossible. Everything we are, have and hope for is framed with eternity. A well know lady with very agnostic views was once heard by a magazine editor to have uttered these two phrases while their airliner encountered engine trouble: "Oh, God, please, no!"and later when the plane landed safely, "thank-God!" When the editor asked her about those utterances later she said it meant nothing, they were just expressions. Some expressions. The cross and the resurrection are also just expressions: the expressions of a loving God who reaches from heaven into the temporal by means of the incarnation to give a glimpse of and a taste of His eternity. That glimpse and that taste give us a hunger for Him and His life. That is hope. The cross\resurrection give us the promise that hope will be realized. Imaginations fail me.

Words fail me. Imagination fails me. The resurrections declares that Christ doesn't fail me. The hope and the promise live because He does. Maybe a fitting epitaph for folks trying to capture Easter in words and utterly failing could be this:


                       Lost my words in His wounds,
                      Lost my wounds in His Word.

To the day we find our voices in the King's song,
Cos

i

According to the eminent scholars, 3 Dog Night, one is the loneliest number. So what's the loneliest letter? I submit for your consideration the letter "i."

Although I must admit that at first glance "i" seems to be doing just fine these days. It has had a huge surge in the electronics sector with the advent of iphone, itouch, and ipads. You can hardly call yourself connected without an "i" something and those of us who don't have an "i" something are always feeling inferior to those who do. That in itself puts focus back on "i." And truthfully, "i" has always done well in the entertainment industry. With the exponential growth of sports stars, reality shows stars, and individuals who are famous for no talent at all, they are just famous, "i" has never been bigger. So how in the world can I claim that "i" is the loneliest letter when it is flying all over the universe with the speed of jets, film, emails, sound, and light. Well, that is my point: it flies but never seems to land, put down roots, and grow into a good solid "we."

I remember a few years ago walking on the University of Texas' campus with one of the directors of a Christian ministry with a headquarters across the street from the old student union. I loved the vibe of the campus. He showed me the bowling lanes, the bookstore (it was a short cut from his office to go through that building), and the commons area outside the Tower. Young people of every shape, color, size and personality were sitting and flitting and talking everywhere. We walked along and he asked me to notice what all these different people had in common. "They hate Aggies?" I pondered. Beside that he engaged. I looked again and I think I saw what he was talking about. In five minutes we must have encountered what seemed like a couple of thousand kids. I looked at hundreds of them for several seconds each. No one ever made eye contact with me unless they were inviting me to something or advertising something for their organization. A huge percentage of them were on cell phones, listening to mp3 players or engaged with a laptop. Jimmy told me, ''these kids are the most connected generation in the history of the world, and the most lonely." I looked again and my heart just broke. They can google, tweet, im, text, and facebook with thousands across the planet but they have yet , in so many cases, to learn what it means to have true connection with God and one another.

We are wired, spiritually, not electronically to connect with God and one another. It seems we try to connect with any and everyone else first and end up isolated and alone way too much of the time in our culture. With all the screens we view daily isn't is ironic that we have actually "screened" off one another? The screens are just modern ways we use to keep some distance between us. We fear spiritually intimacy and substitute electronic connectedness. It turns out that our biggest fear, that of knowing and being truly known, is also our greatest need. And the word of God is replete with His admonition to "fear not" and His assurance that He already knows us and loves us completely anyway.

What do we do in a well-connected yet disconnected, lonely, isolated world filled with busy people all around us? We offer the power that the church has had for years: communion. No, not just the wine and bread every week or month (although that might be a good place to start), but the union we have with Christ. This union we have with Him by faith; this union we have in His word and in prayer; this is lived out in the co-union, the com-union we have with one another. So we worship together and invite those around us to join us. We pray together and ask those lost, hurting and lonely around us if we might pray for them. We serve together in a dozen different ways but always with an eye to those around us who are needing a place to serve but haven't found satisfaction in merely serving "i." We do what Jesus told us to do: love one another even as I have love you.

Then watch what He does. A barrier will come down. A friendship will be made. A phone will be turned off and eye contact made. A conversation about real issues will take place over a cup of coffee. Even a tweet might ask a real question about what you know about Jesus. A lost person will come to faith in Christ. A church will be renewed in loving fellowship. And eyes that could not come off a screen will behold the glory of God in the faces of the people of God and "i" as the loneliest letter will lose its place.

Turn your "i's" upon Jesus,

 Cos

The Hard Part of Lent

What's the hardest part of Lent? Some would say getting started, especially if they are of a persuasion that gives up something they really enjoy, like chocolate, golf, or March madness basketball. But that is also why the meaning of Lent sometimes is lost on us since we get to pick what we give up in order to concentrate on a higher calling and remember the sacrifice Christ made. We usually pick an "add-on" to our lives rather than essential parts to "give up" for Lent. If we are not careful, God Himself can become an "add-on" rather than the Center and Life itself. Others may claim that the end of Lent is the hardest. It has been six weeks since the beginning and if you are planning on going back to eating, using, and enjoying some part of your life that you put on hold for six weeks the last few days can be agonizing. For those, the thought of ______ can overwhelm the senses and the imagination and thoughts of Jesus and His agony fall victim to our own, which is in itself a pretty good teaching point itself. But for many, if not most, the middle days of Lent are the hardest. You are half-way but not quite. The routine sameness has taken hold and meaning can easily be lost in the mundane. This is seen in the worship routine, the marriage routine, and the work routine. Humans long for stimulation of mind, body, and soul. The dreaded middle is a part of any relationship or system or calendar when the beginning can hardly be remembered and the end can't been seen. This is why some worshippers fall away after reaching the middle and the excitement of conversion has been replaced with a call to steadily walk in quiet submission with Jesus. That's why many marriages break up in the middle. The partners call it an end and find a more exciting beginning with someone else only to find in a few years they are right back in the middle again. In the case of Lent everyone arrives at the half way point at the same so there are no pilgrims coming back to say the end is up ahead and it's worth the journey. There are no stragglers to whom those farther along might call back words of encouragement. All are on the same journey and at the same place: the middle of Lent. But some of the greatest lessons occur during the middle. What is true in Lent is true in life. There are experiences and lessons that one can actually recall that got you to this point. The maturity of the middle and the journey to this point helps us to imagine joys at the end and remember that there is an end. Though not unique to Christianity, Christianity has more nearly perfected the art of remembering what hasn't yet happened. This "memory" encourages the middle pilgrim. The Bible calls these promises, and Jesus to Paul to Peter to John recommended their usage. So look around you. People all over are in the middle of something. They are in the middle of an argument; the middle of treatment; the middle of a project; the middle of a book; the middle of the week. It's just as far back as it is forward, so you might as well go forward, that's where the fulfillment of the promise is found. So weak by weak (there's no misspelling there) we muddle along through the middle. There's no false bravado about the middle being the best. The best in Christ is truly yet to come. But there is also no despair needed in our being about half way through anything for when you look really well you find Jesus right in the middle with us. Hopefully He finds us right in the middle of His will. And that is always a good place......... Cos

The Lent Ness Monster

The legend of the Loch Ness Monster dates back at least to the seventh century. The tales of a prehistoric creature inhabiting Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands was popularized in 1933 with sightings that purportedly came from honest, upstanding individuals. The story was subsequently published in London. Whether true or hoax, publicity stunt, or a practical joke that got away from someone, the legend persists. The old gal even has a nickname, Nessie. Some say Nessie is alive, some give "proof" that Nessie existed but has died within the last 20 years, others say it was all just a good story. What do you say? We seem to treat Lent a lot like the Loch Ness Monster. Some say it does exist and look intently for truth and meaning in a period of reflection during its six weeks. Others say Lent served its purpose but really died years ago except as a quaint remembrance of simpler days gone by. A few may say Lent was a good story but finds little or no basis in Scripture. What do you say? There are indeed some monsters that can chew up people and even their faith associated with the church. These were not only in her past but persist in modern forms that need to become extinct or at least be relegated to ancient folklore and not allowed to feast on the unsuspecting lambs within the church or the society around the church that expected something different but got the same wolves in religious clothing. Jesus fought these spiritual monsters who used the Pharisee's legalism to do their bidding. The early church fought these monsters of racial and class divisions, rituals, traditions, and often forms of heresy about who Jesus is and how He relates to humanity. Our modern monsters are no less real but appear sometimes subtle and sometimes blatant in their disregard for grace, mercy and the love of God. I'd nominate a few to be aware of that might me hiding in the lochs of our own lives. One is the dual-headed monster of Mean-ness and Control-ness. These shouldn't be named in the church but they are there. They always have been, maybe they always will be, but do they have to be named in me or you? So many things in this fallen world we have little or no control over but in our lives we can slay these fiery dragons of needing to control everyone and every situation. And when we don't get our way, we don't have to be mean about it. No, this monster probably doesn't rate with the debate concerning the hypostatic union of Christ but it shows up in living rooms, bedrooms, and meeting rooms in homes and churches. I hope it becomes extinct. Let's fight it with humble submission to the sovereign Lordship of Jesus in every aspect of our lives. Another "Nessie" is modern at least in form. There is a "Princess-ness" run amok in the daughters of the American church. We need solid doses of Corrie ten Boom, Joni Erikson-Tada, Tillie Bergin, Susanna Wesley and Lottie Moon applied to the Pink Culture. Who are little girl's heroines? Sarah, Abe's wife? How about Naomi or Ruth? Mary or Martha? Priscilla perhaps? Rahab was cool but kinda hard to explain but surely Jesus' mother Mary could offer a few lessons on trust and obedience. Disney gave us Cinderella and Snow White. Even the greater society knows something is amiss. (see Peggy Orenstein's Cinderella Ate My Daughter, HaperCollins) What does the church have to say to this movement away from sacrifice and servanthood? What do you and I say? (I know, the letters are coming.............) Equal time please? Ok, who is addressing the "Disingaged -Ness" of the American male in spiritual matters. I realize our churches are filled with men trying to worship, serve and do the right thing. But over and over I read and often see men, good men, who are disengaged spiritually, especially with their mates, families, and each other. When is the last time you had a good spiritual discussion with another guy? Don't get me wrong, servanthood is spiritual. Doing things, fixing things, building things is spiritual. No false dichotomies please between material and spiritual. But come on guys: prayed with another guy lately? Your wives? Your kids? Have you even for a few minutes confessed a sin, wondered about God's working in your life, shared a verse of encouragement to a family member or another Christian male? Did you feel as uncomfortable reading this paragraph as I did writing it? What do you say? Start easy if you need to. Ask a trusted friend to pray about something for you. In a month or two, ask him to pray with you about it. Join a bible study. In a month, ask a question. Get engaged. One more and I'll quit. Has the monster of "Same-ness with the World-ness" been seen in your neighborhood? This one is sneaky. He manages very slippery slopes yet when I spot him and try to attack him, I fall down those very slopes on which he lopes. If you tell me I eat too many twinkies, I may want to tell you you drink too much beer. We may both be right but we let things slide lest we start falling down the slippery slope of judgementalism. If I tell you Christians shouldn't watch dirty movies and then you hear me quote from "Saving Private Ryan" in a Memorial Day sermon and call me on my R rated patriotism, I start having to make exceptions and down the slippery slope I go. So "Same-ness with the World-ness" goes on unchecked and we wonder why more of our culture doesn't want to follow our Savior. Tell me, who do you respect enough to let them tell you "no," that's not good for you or society or your walk with Jesus? Have you had it with my monsters ball? Did I make all these up or have you seen them yourselves? Maybe these are all just minor myths or visions produced by an overactive, twinkie induced imagination. Or possibly we need more Lent-ness monsters: contemplative-ness on the truths of scripture, open-ness to the possibility of a greater life of faith, repentence from the sinful-ness in our own hearts, a deeper devoted-ness to Christ that the Lenten season is intended to encourage in our lives to help us face the other "Nesses" we may encounter. What do you say? Cos-ness

Random Thoughts on What Church Newsletter Should Contain

--Pastor and former trustee president George the 1st were caught spreading mulch last week. Unfortunately it was spread from Rob Tennison's drive way into the back of Pastor Cosby's pick-up while it was still in the bag. Pastor Cosby acted as the getaway driver. George the 1st said it didn't look like Tennison was using it. The pastor's wife made him return it. Rob, a Shakespeare scholar, said it was "mulch a-do about nothing." --Executive Assistant (title used to be secretary but since we didn't give her a raise we changed her title) Glenna has plans to travel some over the upcoming spring break. She and Danny are going to see Uncle Al in Albuquerque, Aunt Ginger in Denver, cousin Maud in Claude, and the Tines in Turpin, OK. Well, sure, everyone knows the Turpin Tines. --As our church begins the process of finding a new minister of music we accidentally found ourselves having something in common with Italian opera lore. They have the three tenors, we have the three interims, Tom, Dwayne, and John. One of their first moves, in light of the recent attack on member's hearts, knees, prostates, lungs, hips, backs, and other body parts that has folks from chapel receiving treatment from Houston to Dallas to Cleburne to Arlington to Ft. Worth to Waco to Whitney is to adopt a new church theme song. The new church song the three interims desire all to learn by memory (in case of cataracts) is "Is There a Balm in Gilead?" You want to read a couple of books that might wind your clock? Then try Radical by David Platt or Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Radical might have been called normal Christian thinking two generations ago. It's not all that radical in concept but points out the western church's radical departure in many areas from belief to practice. Francis Chan's book was harder for me. It was tough toned but maybe I needed to hear what he had to say. Maybe you do to. I was glad to know that these young pastor's have to courage to talk tough principles to their principally young audiences. Mindsets, habits, entertainment, selfishness, spending, and devotion are called into question in these books with a view toward moving the church deeper in love and response to Jesus and away from materialism and lack of Biblical convictions. I'm not saying I enjoyed these books but I'm glad I read them. Try them yourself. Along those lines here is a quote from G. K. Chesterton... well first let me tell you a bit about Chesterton. he was an English writer, poet and professor. He was born about 1874 and lived until just before WWII. He was a big man with a bigger wit. He loved to laugh and was unorganized but brilliant. In America you may know him from the Father Brown detective series of books which were later made into a tv movies. He had some influence on someone you know better C S Lewis. Now for the quote: "Tolerance is the virtue of the man without conviction." Chesterton might not be tolerated in our post-modern, post Christian world where all truth is relative, where the supreme good is my enjoyment, and the spiritual gives way to the flesh. If we're not careful the church in America may start tolerating sexual sins, gay marriage, gambling, and spending more on fertilizer for our yards than we do on missions and evangelism. Nah, that will never happen. Would it? Anyway, read more Chesterton and Jesus who said, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Cos