A Failure of Christian Leadership: Weakness of Belief

 

God is Great: Islam is a Menace

How mad should I be?

It’s a result of too much news exposure I’m sure, but I struggle with anger at the state of the world. A lot of the news is meant to ramp up anger, outrage and anxiety about the future. But even viewed through the lens of Christianity, I wonder how much of my anger is righteous and how much is reactionary?

The Offense 

I guess I’m disappointed that more people aren’t fired up about the lack of respect for sacred spaces. I watched a video of a Muslim man walk into a church (Catholic or protestant) I’m not sure. He asks the priest (or bishop) if he could spread out his rug and pray. This all happens in French. I’m guessing at the translation. The minister acknowledges him with a nod and moves on with the ceremony. The Muslim man sets up his rug toward the East and kneels, in the middle of the service.

Islam is not a religion of peace and it never has been. This scandalous lie gained oxygen during the Bush administration because of the War on Terror. Whatever you think about the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the lie served a purpose. The US government didn’t want the Islamic world thinking we were at war with their religion. Can you find Mosques that preach peace? I’m sure. We have churches all over the country that barely crack the Bible, why wouldn’t the same be said for Western Muslims? When it has the numbers, it takes over every part of civil society. This includes daily prayers too. How many formally Christian cities in Europe and America have daily calls to prayer (adhan) that ring out through the city? I don’t mean within the walls of the mosques either.

The Future

 Minneapolis and Dearborn are two cities without any qualms about bothering their non-Muslim, American citizens who have to hear it 5 times a day.  

Islam is a fanatical religion. It doesn’t want to exist with Christianity. It wants to conquer it. It’s an ‘apostate’ religion as far as Islam is concerned. These milquetoast pastors have no fear of the Lord. I can’t imagine there is much they would protest. These are men without chests to borrow a C.S Lewis phrase. How mad should I be? To see an obvious disregard for the God of Heaven, from both Christians and Muslims, raises my blood pressure. Are followers of Islam welcome in a Christian Church? Absolutely. We are all sinners and need a savior. No one in the rows is more holy than another. But everyone needs to recognize when someone is blaspheming the Lord. This is warfare of the spiritual kind. This faux Christian tolerance has to go.

The Conflict

I also recognize that I have a tendency to run pretty hot. But I’d rather be corrected for acting too rashly than to be corrected for indifference. Righteous anger, rightly directed, brings about a change in hearts and minds. It’s impossible for me to see this affront to Christ and the church as a shot across the bow. I can’t understand why other Christians don’t. Tolerance is not a Christian virtue, love and peace are. Tolerance isn’t a positive or negative characteristic. It’s wholly dependent on the situation. I don’t see a conflict, for instance, between escorting the man with the prayer rug outside and telling him about Jesus. We shouldn’t tolerate abuses in the Lord’s house, any more than we tolerate attacks on our families. The Church is a kind of family.

James 1:19 “…let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

Is this a “wrath of man” kind of situation, or is this the Godly kind of anger? The Christian walk often feels like balancing on a tightrope. Overreactions can harm your influence with non-Christians. James warns us of this by emphasizing our slowness toward anger. He doesn’t say don’t get angry; his admonition is to the hotheads. I don’t spend a lot of time upset, but when it comes to our Christian family (the community of believers) we need to be more assertive against attacks.

Conclusion

The danger here is that an ‘Us vs Them’ attitude sets in and get reinforced among believers. We should seek peace with everyone around us, but not at the expense of disrespecting the Lord’s house.  Equally worrying is a passive, do what you like, posture from Christian leaders.

There is a desperate need in today’s tense environment to throw down a marker against a clear enemy. Yes, Satan is the enemy and not people. But the church needs to see its leader defend the house, to revere the name of God. Christianity is dying because it’s largely useless in practice. For many, it’s a cultural relic of superstition that animates much of the last century. The Church will lose the mandate from God to be His representative on earth. Islam’s goal is to dominate every space in society. The Church has the spiritual authority to speak to the darkness and command it to go. That’s true of any attack against God and His people. Let's do Better Christians.

Comfort is an Old Tattered Hoodie

 

Never Give Up: The Illini Hoodie That Keeps Going

I wear this hooded sweatshirt around the house that should have been tossed long ago. It’s the perfect weight for winter indoors. The fit is just right as well. I’ve owned more hooded sweatshirts than most people. Work at a sporting goods store and you’ll stock up on the fleece. Either by buying new pieces or taking them off the sample rack. This one however, has been in my possession since before I started working there. It’s a navy cotton fleece with a full zip in the front like a jacket. I’ve come to loathe the pullovers. They mess up my hair when I take them off.

Too vain? Maybe

Show & Tell

It's not really blue anymore. It’s been washed and dried so many times the color is closer to sun bleached navy, if that’s a thing. Threadbare and flecked with white paint, from the time I repainted the utility room, it’s still recognizable as some version of dark blue. Across the front is a screen printed, full chest “University of Illinois” Illini fan logo in orange.

When I moved here to Tulsa I brought clothes with me. Some of them were likely Illini fan gear and a lot of Chicago Bears stuff. But nearly all of it is gone now, too worn or out of style to keep around. But this hoodie has some power over me. It’s strictly house bound though. I won’t even work out in the yard with it, lest the neighbors assume a homeless man has wandered onto to my property.

‘Waisting’ Away

It's too thin to wear outside anyway. It didn’t used to be, but the threads are visible through the thin layer of cotton that hasn’t completely dissolved yet.  Amazingly the zipper still works. That’s an engineering marvel in itself. I’ve had coat zippers where the teeth stopped grabbing after just a season. No one fixes zippers. They toss it and look for a new one. It’s wasteful of course but who knows where to get a zipper? And how much does that cost? Doubtful it’s much less than a new coat at a discount store. You can get a winter coat at Costco for $20. Is it nice? No but you’ll break the zipper anyway. My sweatshirt zipper still has that smooth action too. Probably because I don’t wear it outside, the teeth don’t get gunked up with dirt and grass from the yard.

The elastic around the waist isn’t holding up as well. But I likely bought it when I was under 190 lbs, then over 220 and then back under 200 again. No matter my size it’s always been my favorite piece. When you get a sweatshirt, or tee or pair of pants, that fit right you’re loathe to give them up. Even after their shelf life (hanger life?) their comfort wins out over their appearance. At least for one or two items in life, because you don’t need to save everything.

Hoodie Phases

There are 3 distinct phases in the life of a hoodie. The first is when it’s new. Maybe you opened it on your birthday, maybe you found it on a discount rack at JC Penny. In either case, you wore it to the mall because it looked nice. You made sure take pictures in it and slap them on Facebook. People asked where you got it. Depending on how much you wore it, it faded after a while. Suddenly it’s a home piece, or a loaner for a brother for your turkey bowl game on Thanksgiving. This is phase 2, it’s become a second choice. Used for barbeques and chilly nights spent smoking cigars on the porch.

These are the twilight years in the life of a hoodie—not putting in a full day but enjoying a few hours of usefulness.

Not all make it phase 3. Phase 2 should be the end of the line. Some just refuse to quit. Threads come loose and spread apart, resembling tennis racket strings. Polyester fabrics peel into tiny balls and spandex loses elasticity. Fabric color washes out and gets replaced with oil, paint, burrito grease and whatever else makes a permanent stain. Wives usually throw out hoodies with time still on the clock, just because of a few superficial rips. Or because their husband refuses to retire his favorite piece.

 My Illini hood is firmly in phase 3. I don’t have a wife to toss it out but it’s clearly too ugly to leave the house. I can figure that much out on my own.

Comfort Wins

Comfort is a simple concept.

 It’s the feeling of a particular item and the lack of choice that accompanies it.

 Got that? Lack of choice can be a benefit. The comfort is in not having to stress over the choice. Does it match my pants? Is it the right piece for the event? Will I get too hot and have to remove it? all relate to choosing clothes and going out in public.  A comfortable sweatshirt is an old one. It’s old because you kept it around a long time, you liked the feel of fabric. But it’s also a first choice for hanging lazily around the house. It’s an easy comfortable decision, and one you make every time.

Everyone needs an old hoodie.

 

 

 

Thoughts On Job Part 2

 Why Ask Why: Job's Trials and God's Sovereignty

The Bible isn’t just one book, it’s a historical novel mixed with tragedy and tons of drama. It’s violent but rooted in peace, heartbreaking but hopeful. It’s advice, poetry and a record of the past. It’s a ‘living’ document because it’s inspired by God, not because the lessons can be revised for a modern audience. The story of God’s creation and love for humanity is present from the beginning. It’s the common thread that runs from Old Testament to New, from the law to grace.

Trials of Job

The book of Job is a bit of a hobbyhorse for me. Like a puzzle, you can only see it when all the pieces fit together. Half the book is bad advice from his friends. You can’t cut and paste verses from Job without understanding the whole text. It reads like a series of essays from Job’s circle of friends which seem correct at first. You have to read to the end to find out what God says about Job’s council. There’s a great lesson in that as well. Does the advice from friends or family echo the scripture? Do they have your best interest at heart?

Job is different from the New Testament and even much of the Old. Normally we say the Old Testament is concerned with the law, and the New Testament is concerned with grace. But Job is written before the law. God revealed Himself to us in nature. “His invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made.” (Romans 1:20) Their frame of reference for God was different. In Moses day they referred to the law as their guiding principle. In the New Testament it’s Christ, as a fulfillment of the law. In Job’s day they reasoned among themselves.

Job’s wife and friends (except for Elihu) are full of bad advice. They believe Job sinned, and is therefore responsible for his calamity. But their intuition on human nature isn’t wrong. Their understanding of God’s sovereignty isn’t wrong either. They correctly position God as judge and jury in the affairs of humanity. Unlike modern man, their fear of the Lord drives their instincts.

Wise Council?

Zophar, for instance, tells Job “Do you not know this of old, since man was placed on earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment?” (chapter 20:4-5) Actually that’s good advice. It’s biblical too. The problem is, it’s applied to Job. He isn’t responsible for the trials. God lays that out in the first chapter. Eliaphaz also treats Job like a sinner but tells truths about human nature. “What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous? (chapter 15:14)

He's saying that no person can gain righteousness of their own will. Most of his scolding of Job is true for people in general. But his friends haven’t heard from God on how to comfort Job. We can’t apply their instruction in this case. The sum total of their advice is wrong. That’s unlike a lot of the New Testament which points to Christ, the ultimate truth. Read Ephesians sometime, or Philippians. They’re rooted in a clear understanding of who God is and what He demands of us. His attributes and love form the basis for how we, His people, are to live. Kingdom principles fill Paul’s letters.

God’s Sovereignty

Job is a mystery where the title character discovers a universal truth in the end. It’s a foundational book that examines the Creator and His creation. Or better said, it examines our relationship to God as beings that carry His imprint. We don’t understand how He designed the stars or ‘hung the earth on nothing’. But we can know that He is the source of all knowledge and His plan for creation unfolds constantly. God’s sovereignty requires that we come to him in reverence.

It might not be worthwhile to compare Job to Paul’s letters in the New Testament. Nor to compare it to the gospels or the books of Moses from the wilderness years. But I think I’ll always have some reservations about the book of Job. God doesn’t exactly tell Job why he permitted Satan to kill his kids, servants and livestock. We don’t know why, a pious servant who feared the Lord, found himself scrapping boils off his skin. Everything taken was eventually returned by orders of magnitude. Job’s wealth increased after the ordeal. His family was blessed and he “saw his children and grandchildren for four generations.” If he had wealth before the trial, afterwards he became extremely rich.

Conclusion

 That God makes our way prosperous is not the issue. His first covenant was with Abraham, the wealthy trader to whom the Israelites trace their genealogy. Christians do as well since the new covenant.

The struggle in my head is over the ‘game’ that God plays with Satan over a ‘blameless and upright’ man. I can’t shake the comparison to the movie Trading Places with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. Two bankers make a $1 bet that they can replace their money manager with another and get the same results. In the process they ruin both men’s lives. It’s a crude comparison I’ll admit, but the story is set up this way.

Or is it?

Maybe the whole point of Job is that we don’t get to ask why. Does God permit some trials in our life to test us? I believe He does. James 1:3 says the “Testing of your faith produces patience”. God reveals some things and not others. He determines our path and directs our way. Don’t listen to advice unless it’s from the Lord. But you might not get an answer to your "Why?".

 

Of Gloves and Hats: Training in January

 

Cold Weather Running 

It’s looking like a cold week here in Tulsa. But it’s January, so if not now then when?

We’ve had some seriously cold weeks in February over the last couple of years. Hopefully the bitter weather is gone by late February this year. The older I get the less I like the cold. Up north it was even worse. Even here though, the temperatures will certainly drop enough to be dangerous. The lows are supposed to be in the single digits on Sunday and Monday of next week. My running group jogs on Saturday morning. If it’s even into the teens, I think they should cancel. The wind is almost always impossible to push through, or keep off your face.

Not many of us have those gator neck things that go up over your mouth. No I won't buy one for what could be one day. At a certain point though, is it worth it? Not every run should be comfortable of course. We can’t just run when it’s sunny and dry. The nasty weather plays a part in toughening up your body. But at some point, it’s too damn cold. Running in icy wind is just dumb. You’re asking to get sick. Use a treadmill. Or just wait a couple of days and make up the miles on a better day.

 I add extra miles before the race anyway.

The second half of the training cycle forces me to increase my distances. I started doing this last year. If we were scheduled to run 16 miles I’d do 18. If the schedule said 18 I'd do 20 or 22. Naturally this was in the last month. We don’t reach those big mileages until quite late.

I learned that my body will go farther when I prepare for it. January and February are tough because I miss a lot of those outside training days. It’s not just the cold and wind, it’s also the darkness. If I ran after work I could probably mitigate some of this. Runner’sWorld meets at 5:30 on Monday and Thursday evenings. But it’s tough for me to get across town in such a short window of time. I can’t leave work until 5:00. I’ve never tried to make it. It would mean changing clothes quickly after and fighting through traffic. Having a gym to run at allows me to put in miles early and rest easy in the evening. Most of the runners hold their nose at the thought of using a treadmill, but it doesn’t bother me. It’s all mental for them. They don’t like the boredom of running in place and staring at a TV.

I’ll admit it feels like a longer run, but by changing up the speed and elevation it breaks up the monotony. I will jog through the neighborhood and along the river path again when the weather gets more amenable. Saturdays are still for group runs with the crew. But we also start between 7:00 and 7:30, which is later than I would run by myself. We usually get some morning light right after that as well. Even in the darkness, there is something about going together as a group that makes the elements seem easy to conquer.

I guess that's all mental for me. It feels colder in the dark even when it's not. 

I looked back at some of my running blogs recently. The weather might be the most talked about issue for me. Whine much? Sorry, I guess it’s kind of the X factor in training. Next is the pace, and finally the food question. Others might arrange them a little different however.

As for pace, I can't seem to settle on an appropriate speed. The program director insists that you should run 45 seconds to a minute slower than your race pace. But how does one develop a race pace? It’s not like we’ve all run a lot of marathons. Besides, there is such a thing as tempo running and speed work for the midweek stuff. The rule of thumb seems to be, run slow on the long Saturdays and do faster work the rest of the time. That’s where I’m at now. The biggest change for me has to be in diet. I’m convinced that my diet is off somewhere. I’m looking at knocking off between 20 and 30 minutes on the next race. I’ll probably need to lose some weight as well. 

If I stop focusing on the weather so much I’ll be able to add calories or something. Saturday morning is just a few days away. Wish me good luck and warm thoughts.

Truth Wins: Georgia's Continuing Efforts to Hide Corruption

 

A Legal Win for True the Vote in Georgia

True the Vote won a legal battle today.

Georgia law allows voters to challenge elections under section 230 of their law. True the Vote’s (TTV) Catherine Englebrecht spearheaded the challenge by accusing the state of not verifying over 364,000 names on their rolls. TTV was sued by a left wing organization run by Stacey Abrams for supposedly intimidating voters.  An Obama appointed judge ruled in TTV’s favor, by finding no violation of the Voting Rights Act.

The non-official version goes like this. Georgia allowed hundreds of thousands fraudulent mail in votes to be counted. TTV used the state's own appeal process to look at their fake voter list. The Left didn't like it and tried to catch TTV in some minor error.

Legal Scam

It's expensive to challenge elections. The courts drag out the verdict, costing you money and time. It rarely matters, long term, because the election is already done. Honest groups like Englebrecht’s get ‘motioned’ to death and if they do get a favorable ruling, it’s on to the appeal. There will likely be an appeal here as well. Naturally this costs a lot of money. Still, the fact that this judge ruled in their favor proves they had a tight case and followed the law perfectly.

I’m thrilled that there are groups out there like True the Vote. They first came to my attention after their integral part in 2000 mules. They showed how easy it was to create chaos with mail in voting. The “mules” in this case, the thousands of paid vote slingers carrying sacks full of ballots. It’s against the law to drop off a ballot for another person. It’s laughable of course that this could ever be monitored effectively. But TTV only focused on the most egregious cases, the dopes that made multiple trips. I don’t remember where TTV set their parameters, but they had overwhelming evidence. Finding out who, when and where was the genius of Greg Phillips and his data mining crew.

Voter Rolls Scam

In this recent Georgia case, the issue was whether TTV “intimidated” voters. The dirty secret is most states don’t clean up their voter rolls as often as they should. People move out of the area they originally listed on their ID card. If they register again with another address, the old address should be deleted. But having a large database with hundreds of thousands of names it’s a useful tool if you’re going to steal an election through mail-in voting. Suddenly you’ve got a lot of extra names and address with which to pad the votes. Don’t think this is accidental. Someone finally challenged their deceit and won.

 Of course, True The Vote didn’t violate anyone’s rights, how ridiculous.

The group that sued TTV, as cover for the state’s willful steal, is called “Fair Fight”. You’ve got to hand it to the Left, they know how to bullshit right down to their organizational naming. I’ve never considered myself a vindictive person. But I’m getting  quite bitter about the lack of accountability for election shenanigans on the Left. There must be a penalty for these crimes. Yes, they are crimes. I know it’s not popular to think of election fraud as a crime like homicide or battery. But it weakens our civic institutions and shows us to be as corrupt as any third world basket case. The difference is that we’re an indispensable nation and our legal system is (was?) the envy of the world.

Lawfare Scam 

I’m heartened by Mrs. Englebrecht and her confidence that the forces of good are ascendant. She is a truly an optimist. I only hope that I can have that level of determination. But without punishment for the internal attack on our country, we won’t survive for long. Lawfare continues to used like a biological weapon, slow and painful, against patriots. If patriots ever get back the country it’s time for a reckoning. It’s time for a cleansing enema in the bowels of Washington D.C.

I didn’t see what the award was. Maybe they award the money in a separate trial. As you can tell my legal acumen is somewhere between high school senior and college freshman who is failing civics. I hope it’s hefty but I’m not counting on it. they’ll need it for the upcoming appeal. What the case really means is that Georgia is so corrupt they couldn’t defend their own process. Not to end on a negative note, but what does this mean for the 2024 election? What’s been fixed? We know they cheated, but what’s been done about it?

I’m waiting for some serious consequences for those that knowingly permitted fraud. If we’re to have a secure election system ever again…