Thoughts From Luke - Day 72

                                            Luke 16:10-15

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹ So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
¹³ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
¹⁴ The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. ¹⁵ He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.


          I've blogged about my pharmaceutical sample closet before, but this is such a perfect example of the Kingdom of God's view of money, that I have to do it again. The drug reps come and bring you samples of their product and educate you on dosing, efficacy, and side effects.(they never tell you the cost). They return 2-4 weeks later to see if you have had a chance to use it and restock your shelf. (until it becomes generic and then you never see them again) So when patients come in that need the medicine I am extremely generous with the samples. We have bags that we put samples in so you can often see patients leaving the office with a bag of free medicine. Lets say the medicine in that bag would have cost them $250 and the office visit cost $50. They made $200 by coming to the doctor! They leave thinking, "I love Dr. Koerten" so it's a win win situation; they are happy and I'm happy. But there is more. When the drug rep comes in, (s)he is happy because the product is being used. They restock the shelf, don't feel the need to give me another sales pitch (another win for me) and report to their boss who is pleased with them.

          Now where can this whole cycle of happiness break down? What if I am so proud of the closet and hundreds of thousands of dollars of medicine I have that I want to keep it as full as possible. Maybe I want to save the medicines just in case my friends and relatives need them. Or maybe, for fear I will run out, I just give a limited number of samples. Maybe I get greedy and try to sell them. What happens then? Well, probably jail for the last one but for the others, the patients leave without medicine and when they arrive at the pharmacy and see the cost they either don't get the medicine or curse you for writing for such an expensive one. Meanwhile the medicines are going out of date so eventually you have to throw them out or receive a huge fine if you are inspected. They are wasted. Lastly, when the drug rep comes, (s)he will only replace the ones given out, will be disappointed, get a negative review from their boss, take up more of your time, and eventually quit coming and give their samples to some other doctor who will use them.

          Do you see the analogy? Jesus says if you hoard money rather than give it away, you may have a nice nest egg but the cycle of blessing that makes others happy, you happy, and God happy has been broken. God will see that and say, "Well I was going to give them so much more to give out but they have proven to be untrustworthy in their use of it. They consider the money I gave for them to use for my kingdom, as their own personal money. I guess I will go give my money to someone else who loves me more than money." And zoom, God is gone. You missed out because you grabbed the money with clenched fists rather than holding it in open hands. It is like the Dead Sea which is dead because water comes in but there is no exit. It's good for nothing but floating in it.

        Do you notice how much Jesus talks about money? That's because He knows how important it is to everyone. We can't deny that - it's important to us, too. But let's have the proper view of it. Let's have a kingdom mindset.

        Father, help me to be a faithful steward of all you have entrusted me to manage. Keep filling my cabinet and when you come to inspect, may You find it well used. Amen

Should A Christian Be A Republican or Democrat?

                                          Should A Christian Be A Republican or Democrat?

        I recently saw a debate on Facebook which basically was asking this question, although this question is kind of confused by the other question, "Should a Christian vote for Donald Trump"? The answer to this would take some other trails of ethics that may not really relate too much to the first question, so I will just try to answer the first question to the best of my ability and leave the second one for another time and place realizing I have four more years to discuss that.

      There are two basic economic systems that the two parties align with in general; capitalism - Republicans, and socialism - democrats. Of course this is a simplification and generalization and some mixing of both philosophies as seen by Clinton and Sanders arguing who was the bigger socialist. Obviously if someone could be more or less of something they are claiming some dilution of the philosophy by capitalism. That being said, let's see which philosophy better represents the Christian world view. Someone in the Facebook debate asked, "What does Jesus have to do with this discussion?" As Christians, we on giving our hearts to Christ, enter into a new kingdom - The Kingdom of God. We live in this world and are subject to its rules and governance but we ultimately answer to and follow a new king, Jesus Christ. Therefore in every arena of life we ask, "How should I behave and what should I believe that would please and align itself in a way consistent with Jesus Christ's character and words. In other words, "What does Jesus have to do with this?", to us, everything.

       The dictionary defines capitalism as “an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market.” Historically, capitalism has had a number of advantages. It has liberated economic potential. It has also provided the foundation for a great deal of political and economic freedom. When government is not controlling markets, then there is economic freedom to be involved in an array of entrepreneurial activities. Capitalism has also led to a great deal of political freedom, because once we limit the role of government in economics, we limit the scope of government in other areas. It is no accident that most of the countries with the greatest political freedom usually have a great deal of economic freedom. The idea is freedom to make as much money as you are humanly able to which allows you to hire more people thus taking care of many people and families and allowing their flourishing to possibly set out on their own and do the same, meeting needs in an exponential fashion.
         Capitalism encourages work. The whole protestant work ethic sprung from the reformation where a renewed understanding of scripture showed that Adam and Eve from the beginning, worked. Passages in the Pauline epistles stated if a person doesn't work he shouldn't eat and if you don't support your family you are worse than an infidel. Passages in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes extol the joys and importance of work and condemn the opposite. Commentators have even suggested that in Heaven we will be working. Therefore, capitalism does align well with the Christian world view of the importance of work and the denigration of laziness. However, Christianity also demands grace and mercy so it demands taking the wealth which God has enabled us to attain, and sharing it with those who don't have. Paul says in Eph. 4:28 that we work to share with those in need and he says to Timothy to instruct those who are rich to be willing to share. The early church in Acts sold possessions to help people who were struggling financially.
          I believe capitalism is the Biblical model. HOWEVER, we do not live in a Christian nation and most of the Christians I know do not live up to our calling, including me. Therefore, capitalism pragmatically speaking does not work in its purest form thus requiring the government to step in and take care of the less fortunate. It also encourages greed. Although our president, a capitalist to the core, hired thousands of people giving them livelihood, it would be interesting to see what percentage he gave away to the poor. I would guess very little, thus the problem with capitalism.

         The democratic socialists state,
"We are socialists because we reject an economic order based on private profit, alienated labor, gross inequalities of wealth and power, discrimination based on race and sex, and brutality and violence in defense of the status quo. We are socialists because we share a vision of a humane social order based on popular control of resources and production, economic planning, equitable distribution, feminism, racial equality and non-oppressive relationships. We are socialists because we are developing a concrete strategy for achieving that vision, for building a majority movement that will make democratic socialism a reality in America. We believe that such a strategy must acknowledge the class structure of American society and that this class structure means that there is a basic conflict of interest between those sectors with enormous economic power and the vast majority of the population."
    
        In other words, they feel capitalism causes inequality where the white male born into a privileged family gets richer while everyone else is separated and divided into a class system. If only there was more governmental control of wealth, it could be more evenly and fairly distributed. Therefore they believe in bigger government, more governmental regulation, higher taxes for the wealthy to share the wealth, and more welfare to help the poor. There are certain flaws inherent to this philosophy. First of all, it encourages laziness. The human heart is at its core lazy. If you can make the same amount of money by working or not working, nine out of ten people will choose not to work. When I help out at our Church ministry of giving food to the poor, I get to take them into a room and ask for prayer requests. I never had anyone ask to pray for a job. The number one prayer request was that they would be declared disabled.
         The second problem is that governments are corrupt because they are made up of corrupt people. The same problem that flaws capitalism, also attacks socialism - greed. Can you really trust governments with your money to do the right thing? As I have visited socialistic countries on mission trips, I have driven through the "run-down" living situations of the people to be shocked by a beautiful, manicured, gated, fenced, mansion appearing totally out of place. When I ask about it I always get the same answer -"It's a government building." The government will keep whatever they want and then distribute the leftovers. 

         So what is the answer, socialism or capitalism. Since the Bible emphasizes taking care of the poor as a priority far exceeding personal freedom  ,(http://thoughtsfromtherightbrain.blogspot.com/2011/03/christians-response-to-poor.html), the socialist or Democratic philosophy of government has to be what Christians should align with because we can't trust individuals to take care of the less fortunate in our sinful society. However, In socialists desires of equality, that have embraced the feminist agenda which unfortunately includes the right to abortion. I can't understand how, in their desire to be inclusive, the Democrat party has left out the unborn as a group to be protected. As an OB/GYN who sees life in the womb daily, I just don't get it. Is it that they don't vote? And as far as women's rights, half of these aborted babies are XX.

        Therefore, I think the sanctity of life has to Trump (sorry about the pun) all the other issues, even taking care of the poor. At least the poor had a chance to be born and live. Until the democratic party protects the rights of the unborn, I have to vote Republican and self impose rules on giving generously and sacrificially to all in need. I would probably consider myself a pro-life Democrat but since this seems to be a unicorn, I will continue voting Republican.

        I found a verse justifying the belief that "Pro-life" makes me a "one issue voter".

"Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king." Esther 7:3,4

    Paraphrasing this in my own words would sound something like this, "Oh king, there is an issue that is so serious that I must risk my life to discuss with you. If it was just social injustices I would have kept quiet and endured, but this is about life and death and I am compelled to act."  You might think I'm reading too much into this but I don't think so. Life is the primary issue to vote for. Vote independent if they are pro-life and you don't like the Republican candidate but always vote pro-life.

      It's common now to say, "Well, I'm 'all life'". In other words, pro-life from the womb is just part of it. Taking care of poverty, educational opportunities, health, housing, career opportunities are all part of being "pro - whole life". There's so much more to life than just being born. While I get what they are saying, I feel the main reason for this argument is to line up so many factors involved with "life" that you say, "Well look. This party stands for 9 of 10 "pro-life" issues and your party only emphasizes 1 of 10," ignoring the fact that without that 1 primary anti abortion emphasis, the other 9 are moot. It is a dilutional argument and don't fall for it.

Thoughts From Luke - Day 71

                                             Luke 16:1-9

16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. ² So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

³ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
⁵ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
⁶ “‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’
⁷ “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
⁸ “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. ⁹ I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.


          This is one of those parables that makes you scratch your head and say, "huh"? Jesus is actually commending a guy for being dishonest, lazy, stealing, unrepentant, a poor worker, prideful, weak, and un-hireable. He is the hero of the story! I recently had to fire someone at my office for some of these qualities, and believe me, if I use her as a character in a bed time story to my grandchildren, she will be the bad example, not the good example. However, parables are usually designed to make one central point despite our desire to analyze, scrutinize, exegete every single word. I believe that the point of this one is how we, who are in the Kingdom of God, should view money.

          First of all, it is necessary. There is no denying that. We need it to survive. To say, "Now that I am a Christian, money no longer matters to me", is wrong. It does. It pays the bills. It pays for our daily needs and without it we would die.

         Second, it is universal. Every society has it. It is the tie that binds us all together. Even though you might meet someone that you think you have nothing in common with - you do, it's this. Even Christians and non-Christians have a common denominator. We all need money.

         Third, it is a commodity. In other words, money in itself is useless. It's the implied value to purchase other useful things that makes it valuable. It needs to be exchanged for it to be valuable. Of course there are exceptions. You could use gold to make a filling or in the old days, if you blew a fuse you could use a coin in the fusebox but these are exceptions.

        So, with these three things in mind, Jesus tells us this parable of how we should view money and it is this - use it to further the Kingdom.  First of all, God is the giver of wealth. David says in 1Chron. 29

“Praise be to you, Lord,
    the God of our father Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.
¹¹ Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power
    and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
    for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
    you are exalted as head over all.
¹² Wealth and honor come from you;
    you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power    to exalt and give strength to all.
¹³ Now, our God, we give you thanks,
    and praise your glorious name.

¹⁴ “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.

 

       In other words, you might think that you are a self made person. Despite all the bios we see on the "Sharks" on "Shark Tank" who take credit for their rags to riches stories, who gives us the brain to make money. Who gives you the arms and legs to use to earn money. Who determined your birth to be in a country and to a family that gives you an opportunity. God is the giver of wealth so what we have, He is responsible for.

 

       Secondly, it belongs to Him, we are managing it. The Parable is entitled "The Unjust Steward". What is a "steward"? It's like our financial planner. We let him manage our money in hopes that he will invest it wisely and earn a profit for us making investments that are consistant with our world view. Now if, when we meet with him, he would get excited when we wrote a check and said, "great, I needed a new fishing boat", I would be concerned that he was viewing our money as his. Unfortunately isn't this how we treat God's money?

 

        Thirdly, use it to further God's kingdom. There are so many ministries that are bringing people into the kingdom of God that need money to continue. Open your clutched fists and surrender that commodity that is worthless unless spent. There are poor people that are short the basic needs for life that God has commanded us to meet. And as we meet those, they will care what we know when they know that we care. There are creative ways to evangelize that take money, lots of money. We shouldn't think, wow, that's too expensive - what better use is there for money?

 

      Lord, help me use your money in a way that pleases you. Help me use it to bring people into eternal dwellings. Amen.

Thoughts From Luke - Day 70 Raising Godly Children

      
                                                                Luke 15:11-32


Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
²⁸ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”


            If you really want to know this parable inside and out, read "The Prodigal God" by Tim Keller. I can't improve on anything he says, so let me approach this from a totally different angle - what can we do as Christian parents to keep our kids from turning out like these two. Actually, that probably isn't fair to the prodigal son who we assume ended up turning out well, but wouldn't you as a parent want to spare your child from the carnage that apparently he brought home with him? Today he would come home with multiple piercings, tattoos all over his body, HPV, Hepatitis C, drug addictions requiring withdrawl, a criminal record resulting in a limited employment future, and a mindful of memories that will be haunting both him and his future spouse the rest of his life. But even with all that, he is  better off than his brother who looked the perfect part on all the Christmas cards, yet inside was a bitter, reluctant, prideful, non-merciful, unloving, slave to obedience, son of a father who he really didn't know. So once again the question is, how can we avoid these two outcomes? Let me give you 3 things that come immediately to my mind.

         Number one - Christian music. This may come totally out of left field to you, but I have yet to see a teenager who was heavy into Christian music, go bad. What do I mean by "heavy into"? These are kids that go to Christian concerts, music festivals, and their favorite band or an artist is a Christian. They might have t-shirts or posters of these artists and their playlists are comprised of music that glorifies God. I'm not saying that the music is necessarily filling their hearts and minds and transforming them into radical Christians, although that is possible, but I think it's all the other stuff that goes along with Christian music that solidifies kid's faith. First of all, in a world where Christian Music Awards are shown tape delayed on the INSP network, parents that find good Christian music and concerts for their kids to listen to and go to, are usually very invested in their kid's spiritual development. Therefore the Christian music is probably more the secondary effect of the primary cause which is parents that see training their kids in Godliness more important than popularity, fitting in, not being different, etc. Secondly, it draws kids into a like minded peer group. Kids migrate to friends that have similar interests and musical tastes is one of the major ties that bind. A taste for Christian music will draw kids to a subset of kids who have like-minded parents, families, and binds them even closer together when they take road trips to somewhat less accessible Christian concert venues with weekend theme park music festivals. Third, it helps develop a backbone. It develops kids that aren't robots following what the world is telling them to like, but kids that have their own opinion of what is good. When all the kids are being told to like "One Direction", our kids like TobyMac and express that minority opinion. That takes guts. That takes strength of Character. That develops kids who don't follow the crowd. That doesn't mean they can't like a band like "One Direction" or be familiar with their music or discuss them intelligently. We don't need to raise un-relevant or nerdly kids, but rather kids that have strength of character and morality.

           Number two - Family devotions. These only happen in families who once again are committed to their kid's spiritual development as of primary importance. Otherwise, if they aren't committed, they might try it for a little while but soon give up because it is too much trouble. It takes work to do family devotions and not just leave the spiritual training of your kids to the local church and Sunday School teachers who quite often know less about the Bible than Jeopardy contestants. The work is in gathering the kids together for 15 minutes in a society where electronics, TV shows, sports, homework, etc. try to pull them in while we are pulling them away. We have to find something that is worth pulling away from those things and drawing into something else against a spiritual force that would love to see devotions defeated. The work also is in finding a fun, relevant, age appropriate devotion to do with your kids. Maybe devotions are met with a groan from your kids because you expect them to sit quietly as you read an excerpt from Guideposts or Our Daily Bread that are geared toward geriatrics. Ask parents who have been successful at this, "what worked for you"? Search Amazon for resources. Nothing against the booklets your denominations may supply families for home devotions but frankly most of the time they are extremely bad. Kids like fun. Kids like activity. Kids like singing dancing and imagination. Kids like creative videos. Kids like variety. Kids like noise. What does your child like - Paw Patrol, Jake and the Pirates, some Disney Junior program? Have you ever tried to watch one and come up with a devotion discussing it? It is possible. Read a Bible story from a Kids' Bible with pictures, then find a YouTube video on it. Maybe you will find a LEGO one. Or act it out with the kids or puppets or action figures. I don't know - do whatever it takes. Then sing some songs banging on musical instruments while kids run, jump, and dance around the room. Organized chaos!

           Number 3 - Involvement in their lives. Enjoy your kids. Find out what they like and do it with them. I picture the older brother working out in the fields to make his father pleased with him rather than the father working out in the field with him because they enjoy each other's company. Watch the shows the kids like with them rather than making them watch your shows. Listen to the style of music they like rather than making them listen to your style. Maybe you want them to like baseball but they like soccer, or even worse - video games. Do you make them play baseball or do you learn the difference between a direct and indirect kick. Do you make them turn off the video games or learn how to use a toggle? Find some good Christian fiction they like and read a chapter with them every night before bed. Make an environment where they want kids to come to your house rather than going to other kids' houses because you can control the influences at your house. The prodigal son wanted to leave his house. I wonder why that was? That's why grounding is such a terrible punishment - a child being taught that staying home is a bad thing - that is a travesty!

         Those are a few thoughts - maybe you can come up with some more. Let me know.

Thoughts From Luke - Day 69

                                         Luke 15:1-10

 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
³ Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
⁸ “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”


            As my kids grew up and I returned from a mission trip and reported on all the people that got saved, we would have an angel party. We would go buy a piñata, stuff it with candy, play Spanish Christian music, do the limbo, buy a cake or make an angel food cake and celebrate. It's the best we could come up with to celebrate with the angels for all the people that got saved on the mission trip. This passage says, " there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents", and we wanted to rejoice, too. I just returned from our church's mission trip to Panama, and I am not sure of the final number, but at least 50 prayed to receive Christ. What a reason to celebrate! I am now thinking about and planning an angel party for my four grandkids to teach them this principle and just also show them the joy of fulfilling The Great Commission. Let me tell you one story about a couple of lost coins that were found.

         I was at the clinic in La Laguna and a man from the neighborhood got me and asked if we could come see a man at his house who just had surgery and was having great pain. We piled in the Kia after gathering some supplies. I got in the back seat and the driver told me to move to the front, which was funny because I had just done the team's devotion the other night on Luke 14:7-11 which was about taking the lesser seat rather than the best so your host could call you up to the better seats and then you would be honored. We went past a river

 

down a gravel road where we were blocked by a horse

 

we parked the car and walked a quarter mile

 

where we entered the very dark house. I put on my headlight and examined the man who had an indwelling catheter and was probably having some infection from that. We gave him antibiotics and pain medicine and muscle rub (people love Tiger Balm all over the world) and then I asked him if he was a Christian? He said, "no", and I asked him if I could tell him what a Christian is. He agreed so I started drawing the bridge diagram on a gauze wrapper but my pen went right through it. They brought me a daily planner and I drew the bridge diagram and explained, through my interpreter Oto, that trusting in Jesus' death on the cross by faith is the only thing that takes our sin away and restores our relationship with Christ as we cross from death to life.

 

 I asked him and his wife who was listening, if they would like to ask Jesus into their heart to forgive their sins. They both said yes immediately. Oto led them in prayer and they prayed to receive Christ!! I was pretty sure I heard an angel party going on! We encouraged him to join the local evangelical fellowship which meets in a home nearby (there is a parcel of land nearby to build a church but costs $25,000 for 1/4 acre although Scott McCarter assures us it "percs" well) and to read his Bible starting in John. Also we encouraged him to get baptized to let his neighbors know that he and his wife are new people - born again.

 

Isn't this reason to celebrate? I hope to hang out with these two for all eternity and have them meet me in Heaven when I get there, although I will probably beat them there. This is why we go on these trips. Yes we go to fulfill the Matthew 25 passage about doing unto the least of these but if you don't give them eternal life, it's sort of like sewing a gunshot wound closed without fixing the bleeding inside or like playing music on the Titanic - it doesn't do a whole lot of good.

 

Lord, thank you for my church that gives me an opportunity to give people the healing that lasts forever. Help me not to just go overseas to do this but also in my own town in my own language. Let me add another one to your kingdom today through Your Holy Spirit. Amen

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba8uIobY2c4

Thoughts From Luke - Day 68

                                                  Luke 14:25-35

²⁵ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ²⁶ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
²⁸ “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? ²⁹ For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, ³⁰ saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
³¹ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³² If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. ³³ In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
³⁴ “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? ³⁵ It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”


        In a spiritual sense,  how is salt made unsalty, thrown out, and trampled. I believe Jesus is saying that if you claim to be a Christian but are only half-in it is seen as phony and people will disregard your faith and discard your witness. You won't be of any relevance to their lives. Also, if you start as a Christian,  like say a Bob Dylan or BJ Thomas or many Christian artists and athletes, and leave the faith, not only are you worthless for the kingdom and a laughing stock to the world,  but you are a detriment to the kingdom of God. 

     Jesus is saying in this passage,  count the cost before you sign up.  Pastor Dan, who I am with on a mission trip,  grew up following his dad, a world renowned evangelist,  around the world.  He recounted to me a story when his dad was invited to speak at a Catholic school in Brazil in '69. After he finished giving the message, he asked all those who wanted to follow christ to stand up. Everyone in the school stood.  He thought to himself,"what have I done wrong? They must have heard wrong." So he had everyone sit down and he preached this passage about giving up everything and  counting the cost. Then he asked for people to stand again and still everyone stood. He had everyone sit and preached even a tougher salvation and they all stood again. Finally a nun came, tugged on his coat and said, "would you just let them get saved? A lot of us have been praying for this for a long time."

         Dan also told me a story about two Moravian missionaries who had a heart to reach a colony of slaves that they could not be allowed access to.  What they did was sell themselves as slaves, use their money to sail to the far away land, and live as slaves there the rest of their lives. Now that is literally being sold out! Have you committed to following christ to that degree? Have I? This is what Jesus wants, expects, and deserves. This commitment,  although scary, is what gives true joy. This commitment is what makes us salty and makes the world take notice.

        Dear father,  help me to continue to die daily and surrender all of my life to You, holding nothing back. Amen

Thoughts From Luke - Day 67

                                                     Luke 14:12-23

¹² Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
¹⁵ When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”
¹⁶ Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. ¹⁷ At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
¹⁸ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’
¹⁹ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’
²⁰ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
²¹ “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
²² “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
²³ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. ²⁴ I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”


          I'm currently on a medical mission trip to Panama with my church. We saw 120 patients between the two of us in 2 days and 31people prayed to receive Christ. That means 25% of the people we saw responded to the gospel and I would say another 50% we saw were church members of the church we were helping by doing a clinic and were already saved. I have been on 25-30 foreign missions in my life and always amazed by the response to the gospel. This parable tells a big part of the reasons for the "success"we have in sharing the gospel on these trips versus sharing it in the United States. 

           First of all the people we share with aren't distracted from coming to christ by material possesions because they have so little.  I would say the response to the gospel is directly proportionate to the poverty level. When you don't have oxen or fields to distract you, you have time to listen to and contemplate the good news. When you count the cost of following christ,  it is a lot less when you have nothing. Also, possessions tend to temporarily give you happiness.  Whenever you are depressed, going to the mall and buying something can cheer you up. When you have nothing, you are quick to find happiness and joy in Jesus.  I was always moved by a story a friend of mine told at a men's bible study one morning. He recounted that his 6 year old son always came to the door before he left and gave his dad a big hug and told him he loved him. Then one day my friend bought his son a computer to play on. From that point on, my friend never saw his son at the door anymore. His son would yell from the room, "Goodbye, Dad". You see, the very thing that my friend wanted to bless his son with, served to separate them.  This is how the Devil uses materialism. 

         Another reason is options - poverty could be loosely defined as a lack of options.  The people in this parable have options -" do I want to come to the feast or not? " The poor, crippled, blind, and lame have no other options,  it's come and eat or starve - not really an option. In these countries we go to, the people have very little autonomy or freedom to do and be whoever they want to be. Their future is set for them when they are born. No wonder they jump at the offer to be children of the king someday.

         One more factor that keeps people from Jesus,  although it isn't a cultural thing,  nor does it answer the question of why we have so much success sharing the gospel on mission trips versus in America,  is the whole issue of sex. In the parable,  the guy just got married and can't come to the feast. Now obviously there is a whole lot more to marriage than sex, but in my experience, sex is a big deterrent to coming to christ.  People know that the Bible teaches that any sexual relationship outside of marriage is a sin or direct disobedience to the God that you say you are coming to.  Therefore people have to decide to follow that rule or not follow christ and unfortunately,  sex usually wins. When I did youth group, whenever I started hearing views on the Bible like "that was written for that culture ", or " that was just Paul's opinion ",  or the like,  I know what's up with that person.  They are either having sex or wanting to. It's not just teens. My dad started a church with a man whowas a sstrong believer. This guy had an affair with his secretary,  left his wife and completely left the faith. He told my dad, "I can't believe all the good years of my life I wasted following jesus". He lost his soul for sex.

I'm also reminded of my mission trip to Jamaica in '98. I would ask my female patients, "Are you a Christian. " They would say "no".I would ask "do you believe that you are a sinner separated from God"? They would answer, "yes". I would ask "Do you believe Jesus died on 
the cross for your sins and rose from the dead to give you life"? They would say "yes". I would say, "Have you asked Jesus into your heart to forgive your sins?" They would say, "yes". Then, confused,  I would ask," Then why do you say that you aren't a Christian? " If I heard it once, I heard it 100 times,"Because I'm living with my boyfriend and not married. " One one hand I was happy that they understood God's call to obedience and lordship,  but on the other hand, I was grieved that they would choose hell over heaven for a sexual relationship.  It blows me away!

       Of all the many sins out there, why are sex and money the two that usually keep people out of heaven?  I don't know the answer to that, but I do know that it is true and I believe this is one of the lessons that Jesus is teaching in this passage. 

Thoughts From Luke - Day 66

                         
                                                           Luke 14:7-11


One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.⁷ When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: ⁸ “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. ⁹ If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. ¹¹ For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”


          This actually happened to me once. I went to a funeral and parked my car in the funeral procession line and I guess I parked it too close to the front of the line where the close family is to be, so the funeral director came and got me and made me move to the back of the line.  Ha! How embarrassing.

       My life is generally one embarrassing misstep after another which is why I really don't like to sit around and reminisce,  it reminds me of past blunders. I am so glad that God thinks I'm awesome anyway. It appears from this passage though,  there are certain blunders I make that God thinks really aren't that funny and He probably gets annoyed by,
and those are when I do something motivated by pride. The funeral story is embarrassing,  but truth be told, I had no idea that I was parking in a prominent spot. However, being a doctor gives me a certain degree of prominence in society and even in church (I'm not saying that is the way it should be) where I have to make special effort to not play the doctor card to get my way. I would say that I failed at that in times at my previous church and knowing that I have the capability of prideful positioning to get my way, has kept me from seeking positions of authority or prominence in my church we have been members in for 17 years now.

       I am thrilled that now after 15 years desiring contemporary worship in our church, it has finally happened in God's timing without me writing letters of complaint, withholding tithes until I get my way, designating giving towards a contemporary worship service , or all the many different ways that I have seen of getting one's way in church. I think it is best to just serve, be an indian not a chief (that is probably not PC), faithfully exercise your gifts and if there is a place of prominence to be given you, pray about it hard, examine your motives for wanting to take it, honestly evaluate yourself to see if your ego can handle it,  get godly counsel and go from there. 

        Currently I am on a mission trip with First Baptist Church in Panama. As I read this passage I see how important serving and humbling yourself is on a daily basis to make the trip go well. As we arrived at the hotel we were given hotel rooms to share and the first decision is which bed do I take. The next decision is how much closet space do I take. When we got in the van the question is where should I sit, should I sit in the small no leg room space or should I take a more the spacious seat. When we get to the clinics , which exam room do I take? Do I take the one with better facilities or the one with more Primitive tables and chairs. These decisions fill my mind all day long as they should and I wrestle with every one of them. But I know that if any of us start insisting on our own way and not humbling ourselves, there there will be great friction and the trip will start falling apart. This is how critical it is to Humble ourselves on a daily basis. I had to laugh as I think of something that happened last night when Jeff and I shared a pizza. It came down to one last piece and neither of us would eat it because we wanted the other person to have it period finally after it sat there for 20 minutes I picked it up and ate it because I didn't want to waste it. I guess Jeff won the humility contest there, but these are the type of situations that Christians should find themselves in rather than fighting for the best and the most.

   Lord, deliver me from pride and the desire for prominence.  I know it is in me. Also, help me not to be filled with false humility which is just as bad.Amen

Thoughts From Luke - Day 65

                                                 Luke 13:31-35

At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”
³² He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ ³³ In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
³⁴ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. ³⁵ Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”


          I am reminded, as I read this passage, of Tobiah and Sanballet trying to scare Nehemiah from building the wall or the nations hostile to Zerrubabel in Ezra trying to scare him into stopping the building of the temple. The Sanhedrin tried to scare the disciples in Acts from proclaiming Christ by threatening them and beating them. Jesus is wise to the devil's tricks since He personally witnessed Nehemiah and Ezra and knew the future of the Apostles. Therefore it comes as no surprise to Him that the Pharisees would try to scare Him into leaving the area and staying out of Jerusalem with threats of death, not by them although eventually they will kill Him, but with threats of Herod coming after Him.

        Jesus, however, isn't afraid of men or their threats. Why? Because He knows that Satan can't do anything without permission from God, whose side Jesus is on. He is on a mission from God (just watched The Blues Brothers again) so He knows that not even the King can kill Him because He knows that He will die on the cross in Jerusalem during the Passover. Not only that, He knows that death isn't the end, He will rise on the third day, so even if someone killed Him, He would come back to life. There is a movie like that called Edge of Tomorrow where Tom Cruise keeps getting killed and coming back to life at the beginning of that day. It's a little like Bill Murray and Groundhog Day. Tom Cruise, once he figures out what is happening, welcomes death each day because he knows he will start each day off without broken bones and with increased knowledge of how to defeat the enemy. Like these movies, if we die we will live again, being rid of this body of sin and knowing God and being known by Him finally free of the enemy. Oh Death, where is your sting.

        I wonder if we can live life without fear and stopping witnessing because of threats. I know a guy who was witnessing with a friend at the outlet malls and management came out and told him he couldn't anymore so he stopped. Should he have? I know teachers who won't talk about Jesus in their classrooms because of fear of losing their jobs. Should they be anyway? I know pastors who won't preach the whole word of God because of fear of their transcripts being analyzed for hate speech. Should they edit what they say? I know Doctors who don't pray with patients for fear of offending them, being sent to administration, losing business, etc. Should they be afraid? There are multiple other examples but the point is that these are all scare tactics by the Devil to silence us and we must not give in to Him. The safest place to be is in the Lord's will. Even if you get fired, He will provide for you. Share Him and be bold. One hundred years from now, when you are in Heaven, you will be looking for those who responded to the gospel you shared and be embarrassed that you didn't share it more because of fear. We will say, "Seriously!!! What was I afraid of? That was crazy!!"

         Lord, help me not to fear today. Help me to trust You knowing You won't let anything happen to me which isn't in Your plan for my life. Help me to be a bold witness. Deliver me from the fear of death. Amen

Thoughts From Luke - Day 64

                                        Luke 13:18-30


Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? ¹⁹ It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”
²⁰ Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? ²¹ It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
²² Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. ²³ Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”
He said to them, ²⁴ “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. ²⁵ Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’
“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’
²⁶ “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
²⁷ “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
²⁸ “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. ²⁹ People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”


           I know that most of the people reading this will be Christians so I hesitate to talk about salvation again, but salvation is what this passage screams out to me and I'm not hearing anything else. So at the risk of being like a Baptist Church where every message is about how to get saved (not my church), here goes. First of all how to get saved, what is the result of not being saved and what happens when you get saved.

      How does one get saved - going through the narrow door. What does that mean? Jesus came to open the door that was keeping us out of the kingdom of Heaven. That door is sin. Sin keeps us from a relationship with God because God is perfect and can't be in the presence of sin. Jesus took all the sin of the world on Himself on the cross, thus destroying the barrier keeping us from God. He opened the door and became the door we enter through. Unfortunately, there is only one entry point and it is a narrow gate that requires us to take off all our sins, our good deeds, our treasures, our family, and enter in without anything to show for ourselves. We stand naked before God claiming access into His presence only through Christ alone. That is the effort of dying to self. Then there is the effort of finding the door. Imagine a wall of ice between us and Canada and there is only crevice that leads into Canada. There are many crevices that lead to dead ends but only one is patent. How would you find it? It would take a lifetime of exploring them and trying them all, which some people do, but the easiest way is for someone to lead you to it. That is our job as believers, to point the way to God through Jesus Christ because only He takes away sin.

          As I was thinking about this while I couldn't sleep last night due to over-eating, people might say, if God can do anything He wants to do and the result of not finding the one skinny door requiring effort to go through, is hell - being thrown out from God's presence where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth, why didn't he make multiple doors and it easy to get through? Why did He make it so that only few will find it? Isn't that kind of cruel and unmerciful? I had several thoughts on that. First, it's kind of a moot point because continuing on with my illustration, most people aren't looking for a way into Canada - they are perfectly happy in the United States.  So first of all, even if God made multiple ways, most people have no desire to take them. My Presbyterian friends would say, "What good is 'whosoever will' when 'whosoever won't'". It's sort of like a vegan going to McDonalds and complaining that they don't offer a turkey burger. They are arguing but even if more options were available, they still wouldn't eat there. Secondly, how dare any demand different options. We recently, in Sevier County, had wildfires that burned a number of people alive and sent others with severe burns to burn centers in Nashville. These were intentionally or carelessly started by 2 young men. We are awaiting trial but let's just say the judge sentences them to two years in jail and 500 hours of community service. Could they say, "I think the judge should have just made us go to fire prevention classes. I think the judge should make us work cleaning up the mess until it's done. I think the judge should have just fined us $500,000. I think the judge should have made us work in the National Park for 3 years" The problem is that they committed a grievous evil with huge repercussions , and what would truly be fair is to put them in a house and set it on fire. That would be the equitable thing yet the judge is giving them a merciful judgement. How dare they complain and ask for other alternatives. People that complain that there should be more options to get to Heaven are forgetting how wicked their sin is and are forgetting the mercy that is being extended to them by even giving them a way, albeit narrow and taking effort to get through. The very word "saved" that we are using and Jesus is using, less we try to use less "churchy" words, gives the picture of a drowning person being rescued. I doubt a drowning person being thrown a rubber life raft would say," I'm allergic to latex" or a Styrofoam life ring saying "Styrofoam makes me itch, can you please send something else." 

        Lastly, what happens when you get saved? You change. The Holy Spirit comes inside and what might start as a little seed of change, over a lifetime people will see Jesus in you. Like yeast, given time, your whole life, every part of it, will be affected by Christ. The people that Jesus talks about that are complaining about being left out of Heaven, never had that life change. They never were born again by the Holy Spirit. They went from Texas to International Falls Minnesota but never crossed through the narrow door. They went to Church, concerts, claimed to be Christians (I just saw a survey that said 91% of congress claims to be Christians - ha), but never humbled themselves before God repenting of their sins and good deeds and relied on Christ alone for their salvation. The seed never entered their heart and thus are excluded from God's presence forever. Sad but reality.

        Lord, help me spread the good news today, the good news that saves. Make me bold. Point me to people that are searching and help me to show them the door. Amen