Judges 2:10-15 All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. 11 Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals, 12 and they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 So they forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. 14 The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had spoken and as the LORD had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

One of the difficulties of leadership is that it requires you to look in three directions all at once.

A leader must look to the past. The past has tremendous lessons to teach and we must learn from those who have gone before us. The past is also full of heros and champions of faith on whom we can rest during times of struggle. If every generation was forced to figure everything out for themselves we would never get anywhere; the past is the foundation upon which we build.

A leader must look to the present. A leader has to be aware of what is going on here and now. What needs must be attended to immediately. Who is hurting? Who is in danger? Who needs to be celebrated? The present is what we are actually building and creating. The present is influenced by the past, but we can turn the present to anything we choose (both good and bad).

A leader must look to the future. Where are we going? How do we get there? If we want to build something in the future it may take a great deal of planning in the present.

Too often churches look to the past and the present, but ignore the future. They fail to set future generations up for success. Then as a generation ages, it wonders why their children have turned away from God.

In your role as a leader keep your eyes always focused on the past, the present, and the future. It can be tough, but it is absolutely necessary.

Isaiah 65:11-12 “But you who forsake the LORD, Who forget My holy mountain, Who set a table for Fortune, And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny, 12 I will destine you for the sword, And all of you will bow down to the slaughter. Because I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not hear. And you did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight.”

When we undertake any activity, our first question must be, am I doing this for the glory of God? If the answer is no, then something must change.

Anything done in an effort to shape destiny or accumulate fortune, but without the blessing of God, will only bring destruction.

Protect your life, your family, and all that is valuable to you by first seeking the counsel of the Lord.

Isaiah 63:17-19 Why, O LORD, do You cause us to stray from Your ways And harden our heart from fearing You? Return for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage. 18 Your holy people possessed Your sanctuary for a little while, Our adversaries have trodden it down. 19 We have become like those over whom You have never ruled, Like those who were not called by Your name.

Have you ever felt far from God? Have you suddenly realized how hard your heart is with regard to something or someone? Have you ever felt yourself stumbling through the darkness trying to find Jesus?

Me too.

Have you ever worshiped when you found him?

Me too.

The Dark Night of the Soul
by St John of the Cross
translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD, and Otilio Rodriguez, OCD

One dark night,
fired with love’s urgent longings
- ah, the sheer grace! -
I went out unseen,
my house being now all stilled.

In darkness, and secure,
by the secret ladder, disguised,
- ah, the sheer grace! -
in darkness and concealment,
my house being now all stilled.

On that glad night,
in secret, for no one saw me,
nor did I look at anything,
with no other light or guide
than the one that burned in my heart.

This guided me
more surely than the light of noon
to where he was awaiting me
- him I knew so well -
there in a place where no one appeared.

O guiding night!
O night more lovely than the dawn!
O night that has united
the Lover with his beloved,
transforming the beloved in her Lover.

Upon my flowering breast
which I kept wholly for him alone,
there he lay sleeping,
and I caressing him
there in a breeze from the fanning cedars.

When the breeze blew from the turret,
as I parted his hair,
it wounded my neck
with its gentle hand,
suspending all my senses.

I abandoned and forgot myself,
laying my face on my Beloved;
all things ceased; I went out from myself,
leaving my cares
forgotten among the lilies.

Isaiah 62:2-4 The nations will see your righteousness, And all kings your glory; And you will be called by a new name Which the mouth of the LORD will designate. 3 You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, And a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,” Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; But you will be called, “My delight is in her,” And your land, “Married”; For the LORD delights in you, And to Him your land will be married.

We usually do not think too much about the fact that our parents named us. Naming of children occurs before the child has much say in the matter. By the time a child realizes that his or her parents named them, the name has often already become a defining characteristic of the child.

To some extent our names shape us. That is not to say that a name defines who we are; but what people call us does have an effect on us.

What an amazing thing it would be to be named by God. For God to define who we are. For a word from God to effect our life from that moment onward. We would want to respect the name that God had given us. We would want to live a life worthy of the name God had given us.

For those of us who have turned our lives over to Christ, those who have received him and believed in his name, we have been given a new name: Christian.

As you live your life this week, take a moment to think about what that name says about you. Then think about what your life says about that name that God has given you.

Do I respect and honor the name Christian with a life worthy of the one who named me?

Isaiah 61:8-11 For I, the LORD, love justice, I hate robbery in the burnt offering; And I will faithfully give them their recompense And make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations, And their descendants in the midst of the peoples. All who see them will recognize them Because they are the offspring whom the LORD has blessed. 10 I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise To spring up before all the nations.

God is alive and active in this world. God has planted a crop of righteousness and praise which is ours to harvest.

How do you harvest righteousness?

How do you harvest praise?

What can you do today to harvest the righteousness and praise of God?

Isaiah 57:3-4 come here, you sons of a sorceress, Offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute. 4 “Against whom do you jest? Against whom do you open wide your mouth And stick out your tongue? Are you not children of rebellion, Offspring of deceit,

v. 13 “When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you. But the wind will carry all of them up, And a breath will take them away.

vv. 20-21 the wicked are like the tossing sea, For it cannot be quiet, And its waters toss up refuse and mud. 21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Have you ever stuck your tongue out at God? Think about that question for a moment. Have you ever rebelled against God and said, “I’m doing this my way”. We have all been “children of rebellion”, and sometimes we are our own idols.

The breath of God, the Holy Spirit, will crush your idols and carry them away. Do not be carried away with them. Instead, find peace.

There is no peace for the wicked. There is no peace for those who thumb their nose at God. There is no peace in self-salvation.

The only peace we will ever find, is the peace made available through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The only peace we will find is the peace found in recognizing that God is great, and I am not.

Peace is found in submission to Jesus as Lord and savior. Peace is found in being a servant to all, and not demanding that any bend to your will.

Peace is not found within; it is found in God.

Isaiah 45:2-8 “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. 3 “I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. 4 “For the sake of Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor Though you have not known Me. 5 “I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6 That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, 7 The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these. 8 “Drip down, O heavens, from above, And let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, And righteousness spring up with it. I, the LORD, have created it.

This is a promise made to a guy named Cyrus. It is not a promise that was made to you, or to me, or to anyone else (unless your name is Cyrus, then we can talk).

Christian’s often make the mistake of assuming that any promise God ever made applies to them. That’s not true. There are many promises that apply to you and me; this is not one of them.

We can read this passage and know the promise God made to one individual at one point in time. We can read this passage and learn the types of promises that God will sometimes make. We can not read this passage and assume it applies to us.

When you read a passage like this, take the time to learn something about God. God desires righteousness, God will strengthen those doing God’s work, God formed light and created darkness, God causes well-being and creates calamity.

We can learn a great deal from the promises God made to other people.

Assyrian Archers

Isaiah 36:7-10 “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar ‘? 8 “Now therefore, come make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 9 “How then can you repulse one official of the least of my master’s servants and rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 10 “Have I now come up without the LORD’S approval against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”‘”

I was once counseling an individual who had made some poor choices. Those choices had consequences which this individual was now struggling with. The problem was that this individual failed to see that his current struggles were the result of his poor choices. This individual had convinced himself that God had sent these hard times in order to test him.

While it may be true that God will use the hard times that this individual was experiencing; it is certainly not true that these hard times were what God intended for this person’s life. The individual had created the hardship through poor choices. He needed to deal with the consequences of his actions.

In this passage from Isaiah, the people of Judah are dealing with years of bad decisions that have allowed the Assyrians to besiege Jerusalem. Judah is forced to deal with the consequences of its past actions. The Lord did not create this circumstance, but God will use these circumstances to help bring about religious reform to Jerusalem and all of Kingdom of Judah.

Do you take responsibility for you bad choices? What are you struggling with in your life that is the consequence of a bad decision you made? What are you learning from this time of trial? What can you do to start living a more Christ-centered life?

Isaiah 20:1-6 In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it, 2 at that time the LORD spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go and loosen the sackcloth from your hips and take your shoes off your feet.” And he did so, going naked and barefoot. 3 And the LORD said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and token against Egypt and Cush, 4 so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 “Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast. 6 “So the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, such is our hope, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and we, how shall we escape?’”

Did you catch what Isaiah did in this passage? He walked around naked for three years because that’s what God told him to do. In our culture walking around naked would cause a number of problem; you would probably lose your job, be shunned by friends and neighbors, be arrested, and either jailed or institutionalized. Also, your church would probably not accept your claim of nudity as a form of Christian discipleship. However, my understanding is that public nudity had an even greater social stigma in the time of Isaiah than in our culture. Yet, Isaiah was willing to do what God told him to do, regardless of the social stigma. What is God calling you to do?

Isaiah 10:1-3 Woe to those who enact evil statutes And to those who constantly record unjust decisions, 2 So as to deprive the needy of justice And rob the poor of My people of their rights, So that widows may be their spoil And that they may plunder the orphans. 3 Now what will you do in the day of punishment, And in the devastation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your wealth?

God cares. God cares about the weak and destitute. God cares about poor and the disenfranchised. God cares about the broken and weary.

God cares, so we should care.

We should care about the laws of our nation and work to make sure that our country is working to care for those in need. We should care about the attitudes of our churches and work to make sure the church is actively working to help those in need. We should care about the attitudes of our families and make sure that we, on a persona level, are caring for the needs of another human being.

It is not enough to simple not abuse the destitute, we need to create opportunities for success. Some will take advantage of us, but it is better to be taken advantage of by hundreds than to fail to meet the needs of one.

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

A message from Pixar: “It gets better”

Have a great weekend!

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream
By David Platt
This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

David Platt is a pastor with a passion to spread the Good News of Jesus to the entire world. Platt asserts that Jesus is someone worth losing everything for; however, the willingness to lose everything for Jesus often flies in the face of the American Dream. The American Dream is predicated on moving from uncertainty to certainty, from need to plenty, from want to wealth. Giving up everything for Jesus is the opposite. Platt writes, “Ultimately, Jesus was calling [his disciples] to abandon themselves. They were leaving certainty for uncertainty, safety for danger, self-preservation for self-denunciation.” Rather than giving up all we have to follow Jesus, Platt sees modern Americans forming Jesus into their own image so they can maintain their desired lifestyle.

To combat the desire to morph Jesus into the American Dream, Platt sets out a challenge which he calls “The Radical Experiment”. The radical experiment challenges Chritians to take one year and 1) pray for the entire world, 2) read through the entire Bible, 3) sacrifice your money for a specific purpose, 4) spend two percent of your time in another context, 5) commit your life to a multiplying community.

Radical is an amazing book that I cannot recommend highly enough. I found to be encouraging, invigorating, and challenging. My hope is that you will read this book, take it seriously, and commit to Platt’s Radical Experiment for one year. It will change your life.

Christians who are not staunch Calvinists may have issues with chapter seven. In this chapter, Platt sets out to explain why it is necessary, within a Calvinist theology, to share Christ with all the world. He does a good job of working through this from a Calvinist construct. However, as a non-Calvinist reading this passage, I found the arguments unnecessary. Fortunately, an Armenian, such as myself, can skim this chapter and not lose the power of the rest of the book.

The only other criticism of the book is directed more at Platt’s editor. Platt repeatedly uses the phrase “begs the question” improperly. This may be more of a personal pet peeve, but it was such a common occurrence that I did find it distracting.

Go out and buy this book, read it, and then put it into practice.

Book Description from WaterBrook Multnomah

WHAT IS JESUS WORTH TO YOU?

It’s easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily…

BUT WHO DO YOU KNOW WHO LIVES LIKE THAT? DO YOU?

In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple–then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a “successful” suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus.

Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment –a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring.

Deuteronomy 31:7-8 Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance. 8 “The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

All leadership positions come to an end. When that end comes it is important to follow God’s plan in establishing new leaders. It is also important to help the community of followers transition to the new leader.

In this passage God had ordained that Joshua would be the successor of Moses. When it was time for Moses to hand the role of leader over to Joshua, he offered Joshua a blessing. Moses offered this blessing publicly, “in the sight of all Israel”.

This public act established Joshua as the leader in the eyes of the people. When it is time for you to hand over leadership to another, remember the example of Moses in this chapter.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life
By Donald Miller

In A Million Miles in a Thousand Years writer Donald Miller explores what it is that makes up a good story and then applies these insights to his life.

While looking to become a better writer, and working on a screenplay for a movie, Miller goes with a friend to a Robert McKee writing seminar. After 36 hours of lecture Miller asks his friend what a story actually is and his friend replies, “a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it.” Miller uses this basic framework as he continues his writing; but, then wonders if this same framework can be used to explore his life. Miller asks the question “am I living a good story?” The rest of the memoir focuses on Miller defining his character, what he wants, and learning to embrace the inevitable conflict so it can be overcome.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years forces its reader to explore their own life and ask some basic questions: what kind of story am I living? What changes need to be made so I can be living a good story? How can I move my story toward and through conflict? How does God interact with our story? What are the stories we are writing our loved ones into?

Ultimately, Miller writes, “a story is based on what people think is important, so when we live a story, we are telling people around us what we think is important.”

Miller’s writing style is pleasant and affable; kind of like sitting on a porch and listening to a friend. His self-aware and self-deprecating nature keeps the book from becoming too narcissistic (a danger for any memoir). The writing may have benefited had it gone through another round of tightening, but the free-flowing nature of the narrative is part of the charm of the book.

There are stories and ideas in A Million Miles in a Thousand Years that will capture anyone’s attention and imagination. This is the perfect book to read if you are searching for something, but need a little push to fully know what that something is.

This quick read would be beneficial to any creative person, and is a book I imagine I will come back to for a second read in the next nine to fifteen months.

What is my character? What do I want? What are my obstacles? Is my life telling a good story?

Book Description from Thomas Nelson

Full of beautiful, heart-wrenching, and hilarious stories, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years details one man’s opportunity to edit his life as if he were a character in a movie.

Years after writing a best-selling memoir, Donald Miller went into a funk and spent months sleeping in and avoiding his publisher. One story had ended, and Don was unsure how to start another.

But he gets rescued by two movie producers who want to make a movie based on his memoir. When they start fictionalizing Don’s life for film–changing a meandering memoir into a structured narrative–the real-life Don starts a journey to edit his actual life into a better story. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years details that journey and challenges readers to reconsider what they strive for in life. It shows how to get a second chance at life the first time around.

Deuteronomy 27:15-26
‘Cursed is the man who makes an idol or a molten image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’
16 ‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
17 ‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary mark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
18 ‘Cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
19 ‘Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien, orphan, and widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
20 ‘Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s skirt.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
21 ‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
22 ‘Cursed is he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
23 ‘Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
24 ‘Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
25 ‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
26 ‘Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

People take about the Ten Commandments, but nobody ever spends time talking about the Dozen Curses (that would be an awesome name for a rock band).

Is this list of cursed activities specific to the time and context of the Nation of Israel, or is this a universal list of cursable offenses. It seems to me that this list is a good list to use when discussing cultural relevance.

I do find it interesting that fully a third of the curses deal with sexuality. Of course, just over a third (five of twelve) are related to issues of justice. The rest have to do with honoring God, parents, and the law.

The final cursing is to the one “who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.” This seems to be echoed in the New Testament statement that faith without works is dead (James 2:20). It is not enough to merely know what God is calling you to do; we must act on what God is calling us to do.

Transforming Church in Rural America
By Shannon O’Dell
This books was provided for review from the publisher through BookSneeze.com

In 2003, Shannon O’Dell felt that he was called to leave his youth pastor position at a large church in a large city and pastor a small rural church. Once in leadership O’Dell met opposition to change and so undertook an effort to recreate the church to his vision. After many of the original church members left, the church grew and joined together with another church down the road. The church now has a focus on reaching people through satellite locations.

The more irritated I become with a book the more I tend to write in its margins; my copy of this book is littered with margin notes. O’Dell paints himself as savior of the rural church. He repeatedly speaks of what the rural church needs to learn (pp 38, 47, 63, 85), while failing to describe what the rural church has taught him. O’Dell repeatedly stereotypes and condescends to the rural church making presumptuous statements such as:

• Too many rural pastors I know have little vision, if any. (p 54)
• I’m also not talking about the milquetoast prayers of most local churches that are little more than cop-outs (p 64)
• There are very few churches that are preaching the pure gospel of life transformation. (p 82)
• Most rural churches are controlled by a handful of families. They don’t represent God’s family…Persistent tradition and generational claims on the church building are what drive them. (p 83)
• We cannot let our vision become enslaved by the fear of someone who probably hasn’t led anyone to Christ in decades, anyway. (p 84)

Ultimately, O’Dell is creating a church that is only able to function under his direct leadership. There is little or no concern for building up the leadership qualities of the individuals in the church, or planning for a future in which he is not a part. Throughout the book, O’Dell seems to substitute his leadership skills for the role of the Holy Spirit.

O’Dell consistently twists scripture to conform to his opinions. The most blatant example is on page 114. While arguing against the value of seminary education for pastors, O’Dell writes: “No one in the New Testament Church was educated.” He uses Acts 4:13 as validation of this statement. Unfortunately Acts 4:13 is speaking only of Peter and John, it reads: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus.” O’Dell further contends that the word translated ordinary, idiwtai, means “idiot” because the Greek word shares the root from which we get our English word “idiot”. Nowhere in Greek literature does idiwtai mean idiot. It means unskilled or untrained; someone who has not yet obtained knowledge. This is just one example of O’Dell’s misuse of scripture (cf 93, 97, 132).

I wanted this book to be good. I wanted a strong tool with which to build up the rural churches in our country in order that they might reach the world for Christ. There were portions of this book which I found useful; however, these passages were so small and scattered that they do not compensate for the book’s failures. I cannot recommend this book to anyone in any circumstance. In a few years, when O’Dell is more able to express what he has learned along with what he has to teach, I hope he will be able to write a more useful book

Book Description from New Leaf

Without meaningful change, thousands of rural churches won’t survive the next decade. *A vital guide for every deacon, elder, and pastor wanting to bring their rural church back to the business of changing lives *No-cost solutions for staffing challenges, upgrading the worship, and generating teams of volunteers *Innovative strategies for growth through transformed lives, relevance in meeting needs, and creating active evangelism in your community

If you aren’t transforming lives, then the church has no impact. Pastor Shannon O’Dell reveals the need for relevancy and shares a powerful mission for rural churches in reaching the unchurched and lost in their communities. Now, learn the strategies and biblical guidance that turned a church of 30 into a multi-campus church of several thousand with a national and global outreach. Experience the blueprint for transforming into effective, dynamic, and thriving churches which give God the very best!

Learn to add VALUE to your ministry goals: Vision, Attitude, Leadership, Understanding, and Excellence. Discover how your marriage reflects the state of your faith and your relationship with God.

Deuteronomy 24:16 “Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.”

The law has repeatedly emphasized that the community as a whole is responsible for the actions and well being of the individuals; however, this passage notes that no single individual is responsible for another person’s actions.

The whole community was responsible for the actions of each member of that community and each member was responsible for his or her own actions.

In today’s church I believe the body is responsible for each individual in the community (inside and outside the church); but, no single individual bears that responsibility. Our churches must focus more on this responsibility of caring for others.

The Pareto Principle states that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. What can we do to more evenly distribute our workload? Only by using the talents and abilities of the unengaged 80% can the church fulfill its mission of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with all of their community and all of the world.

Deuteronomy 23:12-14 “You shall also have a place outside the camp and go out there, 13 and you shall have a spade among your tools, and it shall be when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and shall turn to cover up your excrement. 14Since the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you.”

It’s kind of a freaky idea to have God walking around in your camp. I mean you would have to live your life totally differently if you were living with God 24/7…

As a United States citizen, I am a strong believer in the first amendment. I believe it is the primary reason our various cultures have been able to bind themselves together into one nation. I have supported the Park51 Community Center and would support the right of any religious organization to be present in their community. For this reason I believe that Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas should be allowed to express their beliefs within the public square. Speech and beliefs I hate are just as protected as the speech and beliefs I cling to with love.

As a citizen of the United States, I believe individuals have the right to burn books, including religious texts. No part of our government can prevent individuals from burning the Qur’an. Individuals have the right to burn the Qur’an; but, I do not support them, and I have been proud that our country has engaged in an open dialogue of repudiation.

As a Christian I condemn the burning of the Qur’an. It is an act of hate and cowardice. It drives people away from God and does not express the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we, as Christians, were called to burn the books of other religions, Jesus would have instructed us to do so. Instead, in Matthew 28, Jesus tells his followers:

I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.

Christians are called to go out into the world and not stand behind their walls hurling insults and burning books. Christians are called to make disciples, that is, tell people about Jesus. I believe Jesus is attractive, and it is usually the Christians that drive people away from Jesus. Christians are called to baptize; fire and water do not mix well. Christians are called to teach everything Jesus taught. Jesus taught patience, peace, love, kindness, selflessness, forgiveness, and grace. Jesus taught that he was the ultimate authority, who had all power, and he would be with us until the end of the world.

Too often the Church has tried to be the ultimate authority and power on this earth. The Church has been responsible for persecution, murder, genocide, rape, and a host of other injustices. These have been caused by the Church forgetting that it is under the authority of Christ and not an authority in and of itself. The Church is responsible for building up the Kingdom of God, but this can only be done through the power of Jesus working in this world.

Burning a Qur’an accomplishes nothing for the Kingdom of God. It is an evil act, perpetrated by weak people, who seek out power, and long for the authority properly given to Jesus. It is an act committed by people who would rather be a god than worship God.

But, beyond speaking words of condemnation, what can I do? I have thought and prayed about that question most of this last week. What are the implications of Jesus having all authority; even authority over the Qur’an? What are the implications of needing to be ready to go to the people of all nations; to meet them in their cultural and religious context? How do you protest a book burning?

Over the next month I am going to read the Qur’an. I can’t read Arabic or I would read a copy of the original text. I do have an English translation on my bookshelf that I picked up back in school. I have read portions, but never the whole thing.

If you would like to join me then you can get a copy of the Qur’an from your local library, order one, or read it online.

I’m going to make September 2010 “Read a Qur’an Month”. Then I can interact with 1.8 billion people on this planet from a position of knowledge and not one of ignorance.

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 “You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 5 “But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.

False prophets are not a new thing. One of the easiest paths to power is to claim supernatural knowledge from God. I think it is fair to be suspicious of anyone claiming to speak on God’s behalf (this would include pastors). Blind acceptance can and will lead to a horrible outcome.

God does not work in secret and God does not reveal his plan to only one person. If we can learn anything from the Bible it is that God reveals himself over and over again. If someone claims to be speaking a word from God, it is not wrong to wait for God to confirm that word. A degree of cynicism can be good.