Fallow Ground

There is a very interesting passage in Hosea 10:12, which reads, "Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you."

If you have farm experience, you are likely nodding your head in understanding.  If you don't, you're probably shaking your head, thinking "Fallow ground?"  "I've heard of the ground-breaking comic, Jimmy Fallon, but fallow ground?"  Like the turn on words?  I'm particularly proud, but I digress.

The point of the passage is that God's People, Israel, were not planting the fruit of the Spirit or seeds of the Kingdom.  Instead, they were allowing God's gifts to lay dormant, unused and increasingly unusable like ground that is not tilled.  Untilled, unplowed or fallow ground hardens as time goes by and becomes impervious to seeds that might be dropped upon it and resistant to rain showers that simply run off and into a ravine or river.

In order to be productive, the farmer must break up the ground, tilling and plowing until the seeds will easily drop into the soft soil, which will absorb the coming rains.  The land, so prepared will produce an abundant harvest.

God has kingdom parcels for all of us, gifts that we are to put into use so that the righteousnes of God will fall upon us like rain producing fruitful growth in us and spiritual growth in others with whom we come into contact.  Listen to the words of the Lord in 2 Corinthians 9:8-10, "And God is able to bless you abundantly so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  As it is written: 'They have freely scattered their gifts the poor; their righteousness endures forever.'  Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness."

Whether it be time or money or talent or whatever God may allot you to use, if it is not put to use, it lays fallow and hardens, becoming useless in time - impervious to the seed of the Kingdom He provides and the rain of righteousness He sends.  Do not let your gifts go unused and unprofitable to the King, plow up your fallow ground and let righteousness rain on and around you.  Jus' Sayn.

God-Honoring

I've notice that when a representative of Islam, the religion of peace, is about to sever the head from a defenseless, innocent victim he has hog-tied and kneeling on the ground before him, he raises his knife and then raises his voice saying, "allahu akbar!" which is Arabic for "God is great!"  In the name of his god, who is great and calls them to peace, he then cuts the victim's head off.

They do this when they are about to set off a bomb that will kill old men and women, little boys and girls, the more innocent victims, the better.  But not to worry, they will be kneeling on their prayer rugs five times a day and they will refrain from eating pork so that they are divinely covered as they destroy a Christtian community, rape and kill their women and sell the little girls as sex slaves or perhaps violate them personally.

And, the really good news for them is that while they are committing all these atrocities, should one of them get killed in the process, they are assured that allah will reward them with a paradise including 72 virgins so that they can continue using and violating women for eternity.  Really?

While I find these blood-thirsty, child-molesting predators vile and disgusting, what sends me into orbit sometimes is the notion advanced by so many in this country, such as Hillary Clinton, who just recently said we need to try to understand them and their ideology so we can show them respect and find common ground.  Really?  Not!  We don't need to learn to appreciate evil or give ground to an enemy who ideology includes destroying us or forcibly converting us.

Instead, we need to help them understand that we will not permit them to go unchecked, spreading their ideology of death and perversion.  This will mean ongoing and increased military response from our government but not an ongoing and increased response from individual Christians.  Our Lord calls us instead to "love our enemies and pray for thsoe who persecute us" (Matt 5:44).

The Islamists are not God-honoring in their hate-filled ways but we cannot be God-honoring if we are filled with hate for them.  Just as the Islamists dishonor God by bowing down on prayer rugs and raising up blood-stained hands, we dishonor God when we come before Him in worship with hate-filled hearts; for God declares, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice..." (Hos 6:6).

I know it is difficult for us to ask God to forgive them and moreover to saved them, but this is exacttly what Jesus modeled from the cross when he said, "Father forgive them..." (Lk 223:34).  I'm not suggesting it is easy, I am suggesting it is God-honoring.  Jus' Sayn.

Fair Isn't Good

There is a lot of talk about fairness on the political scene.  It is the clarion call behind redistribution of wealth, reclassification of immigrant status and the reassignment of the deffinition of marriage.  Everything should be equally allocated, fairness should rule.  Sounds good on the surface until you realize that fair isn't good.

To be fair, every time your neighbor suffered a loss, you's have to suffer one too.  If your neighbor's son dies from cancer, fairness would dictate that yours die too - but would that be good.  Since most of the world suffers with malnutirion, lack of clean water and virtually no medical care; too be fair, we should have all of our blessings sripped from us and suffer along with them.

The recent 1% verses the 99% suggests that the wealth of the rich should be taken from them and divided (via taxation) with those less fortunate - sounds kind of like Robin Hood, doesn't it?  It is the premise that the Great Society has been opperating on for half a century.  How's it going?  Not so well because taking from the rich and giving to the poor doesn't make them rich or self-empowered but instead, insures they remain a permanent underclass.  Just look at the multi-generational welfare recepients and tell me they are doing well.

It may be fair to take money out of one person's pocket and hand it over to another but good isn't a hand out, good is a hand up.  It may seem fair to allow the hard-working illegal immigrants to have legal status but is it good to intice millions and millions more to pour across our southern border expecting the same treatment, many of whom are criminals in their own country.  Is it good to radically increase the debt burden on a nation that is swiftly moving toward insolvency?  18 trillion dollars in debt and many more times that in unfunded liabilities - is that OK, is that good?  And, is it even fair to all the immigrants who have spent thousands and have been waiting years for that same opportunity legally?

To be fair, the rich pay a disporportionate amount of taxes already and many give very generously to good causes (most of our hospitals and colleges came to be because of the rich), and that is good (couldn't help the play on words).  But good isn't throwing money or decrimalizing behavior, it is making real changes.  We need to seal the border and then work to speed up the process of immigrattion while lowering the fees.  We need to create jobs instead of just handing out money - there is work to do that is not getting done that would give individuals a sense of purpose and ownership while tackling some of our infastructure needs (regardless of how loud the unions holler).

I don't have all the anwsers or even know how to bring the few I've suggested into being necessarily.  But I knnow that what we have been doing for 50 plus years isn't working and I know that fair isn't good.  And I know that God's Word instructs us to "always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else" (1 Thess 5:15).  Jus' Sayn.

Sheeple

Isaiah said, "We all like sheep have gone astray..." (Isa 53:6a), which doesn't mean that we have made a thoughtful decision as to where we are going or why we are going there but rather that we are blindly following others as they go off the reservation or over the cliff.

The passage reminded me again of what I've been seeing in Ferguson and other cities around the country where protesters, rioter and looters are following after one another like dumb sheep, hence the term, "sheeple."  They have no clue what is really going on, how they are being used to advance an agenda of seperation of the races to ensure that certain people remain in a position of power over them.

These sheeple don't have any notion of what really happend, that it had nothing to do with a class struggle between black and white, that it does not reflect a reality that is happening on our streets daily.  Their protest, the pretense for injustice that white cops are out there hunting for black men to shoot and kill is simply not true.

In 2012, according to the CDC, in a country of 320 million people, 123 black men were shot and killed by cops.  In the same year, 326 white men were killed by cops.  The fact is that 93 % of black men are killed by black men.  By the way, most white men are killed by white men.  It seems that the struggle is not between the races but within the races and not between cops and the "communities of color" as suggested by our president, but in communites where criminals live.

Sheeple - is there any hope for them?  Yes, but not from the democratic leadership, politicians in general or the race-baiting Al Sharptons of the world.  The hope for sheeple is found only in the Shepherd of our souls, Jesus Christ, who "...each of us has turned to our own way; ad the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isa 53:6b).

Jesus is the answer and prayer for the sheeples of our country and the world (don't have space to talk about the Islamist fanatics around the globe).  And we, who have returned to the Shepherd's flock, need to be in prayer for these hapless masses of sheeple who are being blindly led to the slaughter.

In all of this turmoil, let us drop to our knees instead of rushing to condemn and let us raise our voices to the heavens instead of railing against the tide.  Do you remember what Jesus said about the sheeple who were responsible for crucifying him?  He prayed to God above, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).  Oh, they knew they were clamouring for his death but they did not know they were being used or who was pulling the strings.

As his disciples, we must do not less than ask the Father to forgive them and seek their return to the pasture of the Shepherd.  Christians let us get down on our knees asking God to lift these people and this country up.  Jus' Sayn.

Detours

When I enlisted into the Air Force in 1974, I made a 6 year commitment.  My intention was to be career military.  I liked the military, I enjoyed my work, excelled in my career path.  I was certain I would retire from the USAF.  I was wrong.

I did not see the detour God placed up ahead.  The detour I took one morning when I felt an unbending desire to go to church, which led me to invlovement in lay ministry that set my course firmly on preaching ministry - a path, although unseen until then, I gladly took, leaving my military aspiration behind.  Everyone, not the least me, was more than a little surprised.

When I entered the ministry, I found I loved Bible study, preaching and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others.  It became clear to me that I was given a gift of communicating biblical truths in a way that resonated well with people of all stripes.  I saw my path clearly as preaching until retirement and then preaching some more in retirement just for the love of preaching and the opportunity to help churches that otherwise might not be able to afford a qualified minister.  I was wrong.

I did not see the detour that God had placed in the road ahead.  My preaching ministry ended rather abruptly and after a short period of wandering in the wilderness, I was directed on the parh of chaplaincy within the hospice community.  I daily minister to individuals who are dying and families who are hurting.  I love what I do, I seem to have a gift of touching lives with the healing grace of the Spirit, I see myself working within the hospice community well past the retirement age - but, I am keeping my eyes open for divine detours.  God may have yet another road or two for me to travel, there may be other Kingdom work to be done before my day is ended.

Interestingly enough, I use my preaching gift on a regular basis as I  speak to various groups about Arkansas Hospice's We Honor Vets program.  So, God has folded my military and my preaching ministry into my current ministry.  Where I am now in life was not my plan, it was God's.  But God is always right and always good.  And, His will trumphs my will always.  As Solomon wrote, "Many are the plans in a person's heart but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails" (Pr 19:21).

Who knows the detours God has for your life.  They may come at times that will shock you and in ways that will scare you.  But God is always right and good.  Embrace the change in your path, let go and let God.  Trust in Him to lead you in paths of life: "I know the plans [detours] I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jer 29:11).  Jus' Sayn.

Revelation

The fuel for the protest, rioting and looting in Ferguson, MO is ignorance.  While they rage against the injustice of "a little black boy gunned down on the streets," by the capricious hand of "a gun-toting white supremest cop" who had been looking for an excuse to act on his prejudice; the revelation of the grand jury testimony was anything but.

The evidence that came back exonarting the officer on all five points of prosecution revealed that the truth was that a drug-influenced criminal, who had just forcibly robbed a convenience store was trying to kill a law enforcement office who shot him in self-defense.  The "gentle giant" had tried to take the officer's gun from him while the office was still in the police cruiser, where he was shot in the hand.  When the officer gave chase, the felon turned and charged at him in linebacker style.  By the way, if you think the officer was not really in danger, since the year 2000, 50 officers have been killed with their own gun.

All the forensic evidence and credible witnesses affirm what the grand jury concluded.  What was revealed in grand jury testimony was clear and unmitigated.  And still the protests and the rioting and the looting continue.  Why?  Well some involved are simply criminals taking advantage of an opportunity, some are trying to advance an ideology but many simply haven't taken the time to listen to or read what has been revealed.  And, "Where there is no revelation, people  cast off restraint..." (Prov 29:28).

As sad as the Ferguson episode has been, it pales in comparison to an infinitely more important reality: Our eternal destiny.  If I get shot by an officer or killed by a thug, I have not reached my destination, I have only stepped through the portal that leads to my eternal destination.  What comes after is heaven or hell, and that reality is not an episode in life, it is life or death itself - and it is my final answer.

As with the Ferguson rioters and the others around the country joining in solidarity with their ignorance, the masses are plunging headlong toward their eternal destiny without the benefit of the revelation of what is out there and what determines where they will be for eternity.  An just like the grand jury report, The Gospel has been revealed to all who will take the time to listen.

"Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom 10:17).  We need revelation and revelation is readily available but too often simply ignored to our shame and our ignorance and to our destruction as we then "cast off restraint" and are unleashed into the waiting hands of the Father of Lies and Destroyer of our souls: Satan.

This being true, don't you think that you should make a study of God's revealed Word a daily priority?  Shouldn't you strive to become as knowledgable as possible in His Truth?  Shouldn't you want to know it well enough to both follow and share?  Jus' Askn'.

Inch By Inch

Do you remember the old joke about how to eat an elephant?  One bite at a time!  One of my instructors at Harding would often remind us preaching students, "Yard by yard, it's too hard, but inch by inch, it's a cinch."  An old joke and an old cliche communicate a timeles truth: "Steady plodding brings prosperity, hasty speculation brings poverty" (Prov 21:5 The Living Bible).

We live in a society where fast results are demanded, speed of completion is paramount.  Often, detail, precision and quality are sacrificed in the attempt to be speedy.  I remember a framed quote on the wall of our administrative office when I served in the Air Force, "Why is there never enough time to do it right the first time but always enough time to do it over?"

The need for speed in getting a product out before a deadline has taken presidence over the need to produce a top rate product.  When everyone above you wants it done today or preferably yesterday, it makes it hard to focus on the quality of what you are producing.  I remember a friend of mine back in the 70s talking about the corporate speed addiction where he worked as an engineer.  He said that folders labeled "Hot" were to be given priority.  So all folders started coming in "Hot."  So they started putting "Red Hot" for the one to be priortized and soon, all folders were labeled "Red Hot."  Everybody wants it now, meaning that no one gets the best.

Quick results seems so much preferable over steady plodding.  Who wants to move along a step at a time when you can get your results today?  Why spend three years of graduate study on top of four years of undergradate study to become a minister when you can get your ordination via the Internet today?  Hmmm, I wonder?  Do you think there is any difference in the quality of those two paths?

In your Christian life, how fast do you want to deveelop?  What fast track is there that will bring you to a deeper faith and a more Christ-like attitude?  Is there a short-cut to spiritual development?  Are there steps we can combine or cut out entirely?  No, there is only the steady plodding of daily prayer, Bible study and quiet time with God.  It is a marathon, not a sprint.

A deep abiding, foundational faith does not come about by skipping over or racing through, it comes from a daily laying down of one spiritual brick at a time.  It is not nearly as important that we "come to faith" as it is that we "continue in faith, established and firm" (Col 1:23).  It's a bit like going on a cruise - it's not so important that you get on board immediately as it is that you stay on board until the ship has docked.  Being the first to attend college is far less important than finishing your degree.  Getting to the wedding pales in comparison to staying in the marriage.

As dull as it may sound and as far from exciting as it may be, steady plodding is how most things get done right.  On TV, problems are solved in under 30 minuttes, in real life it may take years.  In story books, the happy couple rides off into the sunset, in real life, the couple must work together one day at a time, week by week, month by month and year by year.  Inch by inch it's a cinch, yard by yard, it's too hard.  Jus' Sayn.