…the blood of children flows…

As we approach the endppoint of this election season, you may want to read the sermon whose link will follow. It articulates so very well my position on being a one issue voter. It is by Russel D. Moore, Dean of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Warning: It is powerful. It is compelling. It is damning.

http://www.henryinstitute.org/commentary_print.php?cid=488

Here is a sample in case you are just going to scan it:

Herod and Pharaoh rage against Jesus in particular and babies in general, and when it is Jesus vs. the self, throughout the whole storyline of Scripture babies are the ones who get caught in the crossfire. It is always this way. Moses warns against the giving of infants to Molech (Lev 18:21). The Prophets speak against those who come against the people with babies in their wombs (Hos 13:16). History is riddled with the corpses of babies, and it happens here again.

As Herod seeks to wipe out these infants to protect his throne, Scripture presents this as an act of horror. Why is this? Because at work here is not only Herod. John tells us in the book of Revelation that there is a great cosmic struggle that has been going on from the moment God said to the serpent that an offspring of Eve’s would crush his head (Gen 3:15). From that moment, John tells us, this dragon has been raging against the woman and her child.

And isn’t it true that everywhere throughout Scripture and the history of the world there is present a hostility towards life and particularly towards children? This is because the serpent sees what many of us fail to see in the birth of children–blessing, and life. The serpent sees in the birth of children the kind of dependent faith that Jesus says images the Kingdom of God. Most of all, the serpent sees among “the least of these” the brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus.

Today is no different. There is, yet again, hostility coming towards human babies, and it is happening in exactly the same way–by the Prince of the Power of the Air exciting evil passions. Satan uses Pharaoh’s lust for military stability that says, “I don’t want another king,” in exactly the same way he uses a Southern Baptist deacon’s lust to maintain his reputation to load his teenage daughter into a car and drive her under the dark of night to a clinic in a nearby city so no one will ever know she was ever pregnant.

The blood of children flows. And the text gives us an unlikely demon-wrestler: a day-laborer from the hick town of Galilee of Nazareth, someone who stands against the dark rage against life and rescues this child–Joseph. You see, Herod’s day is not much different than our own. Right now, as you and I gather in this place, there are babies without names labeled as “medical waste” just miles from where we sit. As we sit comfortably in this room, there are little girls across the world in Asia who are waiting on the knock of a door and an American businessman to whom they have just been sold.

As these words are spoken, there are children in this very city who are looking at bruises all over their arms as they hear their mother or father explaining to the social worker why this “will never happen again.” Brothers and sisters, these things are not incidental. There is a rage against children that is bigger than sociology or history; it is about spiritual warfare. Joseph sees the darkness around him and is obedient to the word of the Lord, a word that draws him and drives him toward life.

At the same time, in the midst of all this tumult in the present day, there are churches and evangelical leaders who are saying to us, “We ought not to be single-issue evangelicals. We ought to be concerned about more than simply abortion.” Which means, of course, that we ought to be willing to support and vote for candidates who will support legalized abortion, who will deny the personhood of children who are still in the womb, because we resonate with them on other issues. “After all,” many of them say, “abortion has been going on so long, and it still hasn’t been stopped.” Many of the people saying this are pastors who are in a desperate quest to say to their congregations, “I’m not Jerry Falwell.”

Many of them even believe it missional to speak to people while silencing or blunting a witness about the life of children so that they can reach them with the gospel and bring them in line with all these other issues later. Yet a pastor who will tell you something like that is simply repeating the same mantras as did some pastor in a powder blue leisure suit in the late 1960’s about divorce. And how is that working for you?

It certainly did not lead to a revival of the gospel. Instead, that reasoning led to a generation of people who are now unable to understand what the Scripture means when it says the union between a husband and wife is like the union of Christ to his church.

Likewise, in our day, how are we to speak of Jesus who gives us “life abundantly” in a world that hates life when we act as if the sword given to the state in Romans 13 to be wielded against the wicked–one, bear in mind, that we the people of a democratic republic bear responsibility for–is wielded instead against the innocent. Some people will tell us that there are many other issues–economics, global warming–issues I am very worried about too. But previous generations have used that same argument.

Previous generations of preachers have stood in the pulpit and preached until they were red in the face about card-playing, movie-going, tobacco-smoking, and a thousand other issues, but would not speak to the fact that there were African-American brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ whose bodies were swinging from the trees outside. And the judgment of God lies upon that.

Joseph sees the work of the evil one through divine revelation, yet in faith he obediently carries out the mission given to him by his Lord, even in the midst of all this tumult. I wonder if we are willing to do the same in our own prayers, in our own tears when we know that aborted babies cannot cry, “Abba.” Indeed, one day we will stand in judgment and be told, “as you have done to one of the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me” (Matt 25:40). Joseph is an unlikely demon-fighter. He is not celebrated. He is simply told, “Take this child. Protect him from Herod’s sword. Go into Egypt,” and, in faith, Joseph walks.

Southern Cross

Got out of town on a boat goin’ to Southern islands.
Sailing a reach before a followin’ sea.

She was makin’ for the trades on the outside,
And the downhill run to Papeete.

Off the wind on this heading lie the Marquesas.
We got eighty feet of’a waterline.
Nicely making way.

In a noisy bar in Avalon I tried to call you.
But on a midnight watch I realized
Why twice you ran away.

Chorus

Think about how many times I have fallen
Spirits are using me larger voices callin’.
What heaven brought you and me cannot be forgotten.

I have been around the world,
Lookin’ for that woman/girl,
Who knows love can endure.
And you know it will.

When you see the Southern Cross for the first time
You understand now why you came this way.
‘Cause the truth you might be runnin’ from is so small.
But it’s as big as the promise – The promise of a comin’ day.

So I’m sailing for tomorrow – My dreams are a dyin’.
And my love is an anchor tied to you – Tied with a silver chain.

I have my ship and all her flags are a flyin’
She is all that I have left – And music is her name.

Chorus

Think about how many times I have fallen
Spirits are using me larger voices callin’.
What heaven brought you and me cannot be forgotten.

I have been around the world,
lookin’ for that woman/girl
Who knows love can endure.
And you know it will.
And you know it will.

So we cheated and we lied and we tested.
And we never failed to fail; it was the easiest thing to do.

You will survive being bested.
Somebody fine will come along make me forget about loving you in the Southern Cross.

(Words & music by Stephen Stills, Richard Curtis and Michael Curtis)

Most of us are contradictions in terms. I certainly am.

Anybody that knows me well knows that I have always been and probably always will be a fan of hard rock. About a month ago, Sirius radio unveiled a new channel dedicated solely to AC/DC. “Who Made Who” and Thunderstruck” have taught the speakers in my car how to rock—and the band just released a new album/CD –the first in many years. From my initial listening over the radio, they still have it!

Music has always had the power to move me—and were I to list all the songs that have done so, then this blog would become the blog that never ends, it goes on, and on my friends… maybe you get the picture…

In the contradiction that I am, one band in general that is about as far removed as you get from the hard rock sound has awesome power to make me be nostalgic, etc. That band is Crosby, Stills, Nash (and Young).

One song in particular always makes my playlists: “Southern Cross.” I will always remember being south of the equator and seeing the Southern Cross for the first time. I well remember being at sea and far away from home—contemplating mistakes made.

There is a line that always reverberates with a little fear: “And we never failed to fail; it was the easiest thing to do.”

If this song is ultimately about relationships—as I believe it is, then this line ought to make you think about your relationships—with your spouse, your children, and others whom deserve your best.

Failing is the easiest thing to do when you need to stand in the gap and fight for those you love.

May God bless our families and our churches with people who will not let failure be an option1

Les, Jr.

Reclaiming the Imagination: The Exodus as Paradigmatic Narrative for Preaching

What?

I will be in Nashville soon for the preaching conference at Lipscomb.

I certainly hope they have a session to help me translate the hifalutin’ title.

Be that as it may, I expect to be energised not only by the subject matter, but also by the association with some of my oldest friends. I am looking forward to the fellowship and excited by the break from my norm.

And, I get to see our oldest son Kyle!

Have a great week!

Les, Jr.

I wonder… musings from my political side…

I have always been interested in politics.

There was a time when I could have easily made the decision to plunge in headfirst.

The idea of public service is hugly gratifying to me. The concepts of social justice and equality are worthy ideals to serve.

However, I admittedly find it hard to equate being a career politician with public service–I didn’t say the two were mutually exclusive–I just happen to find the concept difficult if not troubling.

I really believe that I am meant to be a minister–I believe God has that particular calling for my life. But if he didn’t intend me to serve a greater Kingdom than the worlds of men, then the idea of term limits would be a strike against me as a public servant.

The other major strike against me from some would be my stance on abortion. I cannot–will not support a candidate or a party who somehow gives approval to the “right” to choose death for an unborn child. Such a stance may cause me to miss out on a candidate that otherwise might do a good job. But then, how good of a job could it possibly be if it is based on a horrifically flawed foundation?

The words to the following song are haunting to me…

What Was I Supposed To Be?

Words and music by Ray Boltz

When Jesus walked upon the earth
On the shores of Galilee
He’d say to his disciples,
Let the little children come to me

I wonder if up in heaven
Do you suppose we’ll see
Little children ask Him,
What was I supposed to be?

CHORUS:
What was I supposed to be?
What were my eyes supposed to see?
And why did I taste of death
Before I even drew a breath
Or laid my head
At my mother’s breast to sleep
Oh, Jesus, what was I supposed to be?

CHORUS

Was I to be a prophet
Used in the ministry?
A doctor who would find the cure
For some terrible disease?
Even if I’d been born imperfect
Why couldn’t my parents see
That I’d have been made perfect
When you came back for me?
Oh, Jesus,

CHORUS

What was I supposed to be?
Jesus, what was I supposed to be?

Ouch! For Men!

A friend shared this with me. You may not find it all to your liking, but it is powerful indeed.

Take a few minutes to read and think about this: http://www.davidfoster.tv/7-things-i%e2%80%99d-like-to-say-to-the-men-of-america/

Be blessed–be a blessing!

Les, Jr.