In Times Like These

_{(Note: This post was originally authored after the 2020 Presidential Election.)}

After an unsettled and unsettling night America shutters. How now, America?

There is nothing more uncertain that the emergence of the introduction of the new order of things.

Your uncertain tomorrow won’t cause you anxiety if you meet it with the God who blessed you yesterday.

The future is uncertain, but our God isn’t. From His Word we read:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Richard Hofstadter in one of his essays wrote descriptively of our hour.

“The nation seems to slouch onward into its uncertain future like some huge inarticulate beast, too much attainted by wounds and ailments to be robust, but too strong and resourceful to succumb.”

Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower reminds us of how we should respond personally in such a time. “Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.”

Lift up your downcast heart. True faith resides in the ability to trust God. This is our hour to prove we do.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” (I Peter 5:6-7)

The storm clouds of World War II were gathering when young Princess Elizabeth, aged 13, handed the following poem to her father, King George VI, as he prepared to address the British Empire in his 1939 Christmas broadcast. His quoting of it calmed his uncertain nation. May it do the same to all who read it now. It is entitled “God Knows.”

“And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’
And he replied:
‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.’
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.”

Take this text as your by-word:  “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.”  (Psalm 56:3)

How To React To Disappointment God’s Way

Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump, what do all these presidents have in common? It is that I prayed for the welfare and leadership of each. Did I like them? By no means. What will President Biden have in common with them? That I will pray for him.

We need to keep one thing in mind, regardless of the president, God is still God, and there is no indication He is about to be up for a vote or abdicate His throne.

It is hard to find a paragon of virtue among those Presidents listed here, but we survived them all.

When evangelical Christians speak of praying for a leader, not of their liking, it is assumed by some they are praying the worst for them, even death. Let me tell you what I pray, according to Scripture, for such a one. It is found in the Bible book of I Timothy 2: 1-4.

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior….” (I Timothy 2:1-4)

Love for opponents is the pinnacle of obedience to God. 

The instruction is to pray for “all men.” There is no loophole allowing for not praying even for the unpopular.

As a humorous aside, Mark Twain was seen reading the Bible and asked why. He replied, “I am looking for loopholes, but I can’t find any.”

At a time Christians were being persecuted the early church leader Tertullian explained: “We pray for all the emperors, that God may grant them long life, a secure government, a prosperous family, vigorous troops, a faithful senate, an obedient people; that the whole world may be in peace; and that God may grant, both to Caesar and to every man, the accomplishment of their just desires.” Note, not all their desires, but all of their “just desires.”

A reason is given, “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.” (vs. 3) It is what God instructs us to do, it is acceptable to Him.

This gives a second reason for praying for leaders as being that they may “…be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (vs. 4) If they come to “the knowledge of truth” they will govern according to God’s laws. If God and secular society expect believers to pray for all in authority it is reasonable that we pray all that Scripture instructs us to pray regarding them. That is not bigotry, it is obedience.

It is foolish not to pray for leaders, because as their followers we are really praying for our own benefit.

We should not abandon those leaders with whom we disagree, we must pray for them. I am not going to pray once according to this text, but many times during their administration. I always have, and I always will, in the good times and the bad, “That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence….” (vs. 2)

As a post script, I am going to apply this principle to all national and local elected officials.

Anger Management, Part 2

Jesus Christ, upon going into the Temple, found behavior forbidden in Scripture. He turned over the tables of the money changers and drove them out. Can you imagine Him doing this passively? Read the account and imagine what emotion might have been involved: John 2:14-17.

In reality there is in Christ that which would horrify the pacifist. He is our Physician, the lover of our souls, and the Prince of Peace, but He also abhors evil.

Can you picture Jesus as being angry? He was and so should you be — AT THE RIGHT TIME AND ABOUT THE PROPER THINGS.

The Bible teaches us of God’s anger. Note:

“His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life.” (Psalm 30:5)

“In that day you will say: ‘O Lord, I will praise You; Though you were angry with me, Your anger is turned away and You comfort me.” (Isaiah 2:11)

“He does not retain His anger forever…” (Micah 7:18)

“I will execute the fierceness of My anger…” (Hosea 11:9)

“But You are God … slow to anger…” (Nehemiah 9:17)

“Return to the Lord your God … For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger…” (Joel 2:13)

God does get angry and so should you. Don’t take that statement out of context, nor apply it apart from the way it is now to be developed.

Failure to become angry over evil is a sign of unlikeness to Christ. If the spirit of Christ is in us, we can’t stand passively watching wrong being heaped upon wrong.

Let’s group anger into two categories. One we will call ventilation and the other indignation. One is good, the other isn’t. One is characteristic of Christ and should be of us, the other isn’t a trait of our Lord and should not be of us.

Ventilation is a term used for improper anger, the losing of the temper, blow-up kind. This is wrong.

John 2 speaks of “rage and anger.”

“Rage” translates the Greek word “thumos” which refers to an inward feeling. It literally means to “get hot.”

“Anger” translates the Greek “orgizo” and signifies an actively expressed emotion.  If “rage” means to get hot, “anger” means to boil over.

This is an appeal to avoid letting something build up in you to a boiling stage and exploding. Avoid this by not being a collector of wrongs done to you. 

Next, three improper ways in which anger is expressed are noted. “Brawling” or “clamor” is one. It means screaming and crying. Don’t do it.  This can turn into “slander” or “evil speaking” where we defame someone. 

Character assignation then turns into “malice” which is a desire to injure a person. 

Jesus was moved by holy zeal. That is, He was zealous for the right thing to be done. That is the kind of anger we are to have. That is what the text means when it says, “Be angry and sin not.”

Indignation is a term for the feelings of Christ in the temple. It is a strong displeasure over unrighteousness. Indignation means you become incensed. When it is vented toward sin it is righteousness indignation and that is good.  As an expression of abhorrence of wrong in loyalty to the Lord it is right. 

Don’t rationalize your inclination toward all anger. Be angry and sin not. Jesus didn’t shed His blood on Calvary that you can go around spewing anger. He did it to save you, and give you the ability of self-control.

Anger Management, Part 1

“Be angry and sin not.” (Ephesians 4:26)

How can you do that, and why is anger forbidden?

First, not all anger is forbidden. The text specifically says “be angry.” It also says “sin not.”

There are some things it is wrong to be angry about and some it would be sin not to be angry about. Differentiating between them is the challenge. This is not a license to give vent to your pet peeves.

According to Scripture not all anger is wrong. Righteous anger should arise when we witness “an offense against God or His Word.” Righteous anger shows that we care about things that matter to God. It is the normal and natural response to certain things. It attacks the sin, not the sinner. 

Anger turns to wrath if not managed by God. It builds if there is no closure. 

Therefore, don’t let it fester. “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” (Ephesians 4:31) Don’t hang on to your anger, but never forget what it taught you.

“But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.” (Colossians 3:8)

“Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.”

“…because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”   (Proverbs 29:11 and James 1:20)

“Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.” (Proverbs 14:29) Speak when you are angry and that will be the best speech you will ever regret.

As a teen my mom wrote and gave me a Scripture I have kept until this day: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1) That has been proven to be good counsel. Don’t respond to an angry person in anger, even if it is deserved, lest that one’s anger becomes your anger. Don’t carry a mirror around to reflect another’s anger.

Avoid the sinful anger that is indigenous in our culture, and instead make an amalgam of these texts in your mind and aspire to live in accordance with them.“Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11)

Let Others See Jesus in You

Members of the church in Thessalonia were complimented as being “examples.” Another translation renders the word more exactly as “ensamples.” 

Ensample is a word that is more easily described than defined. Consider a plate of malleable wax. Make a fist and strike the wax. When the fist is removed, what is left is an ensample of the fist, a likeness of the fist.

That graphic depicts what an encounter of Jesus with us should result in, a likeness to Him. How distinct is His likeness in you?

We sing, or used to sing before contemporary music became the norm, “Let others see Jesus in you.” That is not just good music, it is an admirable lifestyle for a believer. 

There could be no better illustration of being an example than the fact that “Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21)

Albert Schweitzer, the French theologian, philosopher and physician said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others – it is the only thing. More depends on our walk than on our talk, what we practice than what we profess, what we do than what we say.”

A tremendous amount of learning happens through this process of watching and imitating others. In psychology, this is known as observational learning. Keep in mind you are an observational teacher. People learn from your example. 

Most of our learning is visual. Eighty-nine percent of what people learn comes through visual stimulation; ten per cent through audible stimulation. 

“How To” videos on YouTube.com are much more popular than mere instructional text.

The first century was a visual learning culture that could easily understand the appeal to “… let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

We are instructed to “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2)

“In everything set them an example by doing what is good.”  (Titus 2:7)

None of this is to diminish the value of speaking truth. It is not an issue of either or, but both and. Vocal sharing fills in the blanks left in living the gospel. Therefore. “…whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17)

Edgar Guest in his poem “Sermons We See” codifies the principle this way:

“I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day; 
I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way. 
The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear, 
Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear….”