Alike In So Many Ways

Indian Christians are like Christians from the United States. They are born sinners in need of a savior. Like us, they believe lies about God, about the creation, and about themselves. They are distracted by the world and can love the world like we do. When they neglect their Bibles, they wander in darkness.

Indian Christians like Christians everywhere love to sing. Their songs have different words but the same themes: God’s grace and mercy, Christ’s death and resurrection, the Church, expressions of commitment, petitions for intervention, thankfulness for blessings, and hymns of highest praise. They sing about the cross and forgiveness, hope and assurance.

As we do, Indian Christians gather on the Lord’s Day, greet each other warmly, listen attentively to the preaching of the Word of God, and give generously to the support of the gospel and its expansion.

Unlike us, Indian Christians do not need explanations of some Bible ideas like many western Christians do. For example, no Indian pastor has to explain the meaning of “are like chaff which the wind drives away (Ps. 1:4)” or “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me (John 10:27). They know from their earliest days what this means. Most of them have seen it first hand or have engaged in the practice. Sermons need not be long on explanation but can be powerful in application.

A trip to the East asserts once again that Christianity is not - in any way, shape, or form - a western religion. Christianity’s imagery, landscape, and characters are eastern. Western minds gain much from visits to the East, conversations with eastern Christians, and sharing in the life of the church in the East. I rejoice at the opportunity.

To paraphrase Paul, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment. There is no Indian or American, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Though not Indian, throughout the last year, our church prayed for 40 African members. That prayer remains my hope for our church. African Christians live all around our church building. They have left their home country to come to the United States. When they left their country, they left their Christian communities. They need a new one. Could our church be their church too?

I hope and pray.

As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

India

Sensory overload was the phrase I first used to describe my experience in India when I traveled the country for nearly one month in 2010. More than 1.3 billion people occupy a landmass one-third that of the United States. Sights, sounds, and smells grow beyond what most westerners experience on a daily basis.

My visit to India takes me to Hyderabad, a metropolitan area of more than 9,000,000. In Hyderabad our friends and gospel partners, Solomon and Sandyha Raju serve the Lord in a Bible college, local churches, a children’s home, and mercy ministries. When I arrive Thursday morning, my task is to train seminarians, help local pastors, and encourage Solomon, Sandyha and their family.

I ask for your prayer support. Would you pray for physical health and strength? Beyond the actual travel to the other side of the globe, I will hit the ground running when I arrive. The meetings with students and pastors to train them in the work of the local church and the evening gospel meetings will put a strain on my voice, body, and mind. I will need the Lord’s strength to complete the tasks.

Would you pray for salvation of people? I will, without question, preach to people who do not know the good news of Jesus Christ. We read in Romans that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” Will you ask God to save people?

Would you pray God encourages the Christians I meet? I want to lift the spirits of our mission partners. I want to help the dad trying to lead their families. I want to show the children and students the joy of following Jesus faithfully. I want to lend a hand to the pastors who fight discouragement, who wonder if God is blessing their small congregation, and for whom the pressures of life a real.

I look forward to telling you about my trip both when I return and at points along the way.

As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

They Lust for the Blood of Babies

Let there be no misunderstanding in my communication. United States Senators Amy Klobuchar (MN) and Tina Smith (MN) promote infanticide. They disgust me.

Democrats Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith are mothers. Both have held newborns in their arms immediately following a live birth. You would think the experience of holding a minutes-old-child would have some impact on the women. It does not. Both Minnesota senators voted no on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. They are abhorrent.

The brief legislation attempts to do one thing and one thing only - save the life of a little human who survives an attempt to kill it via abortion.

Congress finds the following:
(1) If an abortion results in the live birth of an infant, the infant is a legal person for all purposes under the laws of the United States, and entitled to all the protections of such laws.
2) Any infant born alive after an abortion or within a hospital, clinic, or other facility has the same claim to the protection of the law that would arise for any newborn, or for any person who comes to a hospital, clinic, or other facility for screening and treatment or otherwise becomes a patient within its care.

and

Any health care practitioner present at the time the child is born alive shall -
"(A) exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age; and
"(B) following the exercise of skill, care, and diligence required under subparagraph (A), ensure that the child born alive is immediately transported and admitted to a hospital.

The two democrat senators from the state of Minnesota joined 42 other democrat senators from across the United States to strike down legislation "to preserve the life and health of the child."

U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Democrat from Minnesota, took to the senate floor prior to Monday's vote to state her wildly irrational position and call others to join her resistance. Her Twitter pageproudly promotes her opposition (click the link to listen to her full speech). Immediately following her tweet against saving lives is a second tweet that reads "Be kind and love one another" and shows a picture of children from the Red Lake Band of American Indians.

Am I the only one who sees the absurdity of this intersectionality?

Since 1973 democrats and other abortionists have preached to us that prior to birth what was in the womb was a collection of cells or an unviable fetus or whatever other phrase they employed to take away the idea that a real human being was in there. They told us over and again the baby had to be outside of the womb to be considered a human. Not any more. Those were the old rules. Try to keep up.

To 44 democrats including Klobuchar and Smith, it doesn't matter if a baby survives an abortion, is outside its mother's body, is alive, has a heartbeat, is breathing, or is moving. If the mother wants it dead and the doctor is willing to kill it or let it die, then make it happen. They make me want to vomit.

44 United States Senators from the democrat party voted no to giving those little humans the rights of every other child born to a mother, and they voted no to the requirement to provide reasonable care. The Minnesota senators both women, both mothers voted no. Let that sink in.

Minnesota Nice, yeah right.

I've previously written that abortionists and the democrat party and Senators Klobuchar and Smith will not move one inch away from their lust to kill babies and to allow them to die. They will not oppose late term abortion. They will not require parental consent for a minor seeking an abortion. And now they will not come to the aid of the most vulnerable human beings.

Late term abortions are a small percentage of the total. Do not equate small percentage with a small number. The most recent informationfrom the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a total of 638,169 abortions for the calendar year. 1.3% or 8,296 abortions occurred after 20 weeks gestation. Babies who survive abortions are those very late in the pregnancy.

When a baby dies post birth, the CDC calls this an "infant death." From 2003–2014 there were 315,392 infant deaths and 49,126,572 live births. Of those 315,392 infant deaths, the CDC calls 143 of them "induced terminations." An induced termination is when some action or inaction takes place following the birth of a live human being that caused its death or did not prevent its death. The CDC admits the number 143 may not fully reflect the number of induced terminations.

When an induced termination happens, a cause-of-death certifier completes a death certificate. Read that again. There was a live birth and now there is a death. There is documentation attesting the fact. 44 democrat senators including Senators Klobuchar and Smith are more than ok with that.

What do those death certificates list as the cause of death? The CDC reports unedited language used exactly by the cause-of-death certifier. Here's a sample (click the link above to read them for yourself).

• Abortion for maternal medical reasons

• Attempted elective abortion (mother changed her mind)

• Desires second trimester abortion

• Elective termination by patient

• Failed abortion Induced termination of pregnancy

• Therapeutic abortion

• Therapeutic termination

• Therapeutic termination of pregnancy

• Voluntary interruption of pregnancy

• Voluntary termination of pregnancy

What more is necessary to declare the democrat party, nearly all the democrat senators and our two senators from the great state of Minnesota as promoters of infanticide? They are no different than Thotmes II during the time of Moses (Exodus 1:15–16) and no different than King Herod at the birth of Jesus (Matthew 2:16).

Shortly, our two senators will receive written communication from me in the strongest language possible condemning their failures to protect the most vulnerable of our race. I hope you will join me in the condemnation by calling or writing to their offices. Further, I hope you will never grow comfortable with the killing of little humans within the womb and now, almost unbelievably, outside the womb.

May God have mercy on us all.

As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

My Truth, Your Truth, What Is Truth?

Maybe you’ve seen the meme about 6 or 9. In cartoon fashion, the sketch shows two people on either side looking down at the image on the ground. From the point of view of one, the shape on the ground is the number six. From the opposite side, the other viewer declares the shame shape a nine.

A caption below reads, “Just because you are right, does not mean, I am wrong. You just haven’t seen life from my side.”

Sounds good, doesn’t it? But the visual could not be more deceptive. Truth, according to the picture and the caption, is subjective based on point of view and interpretation of what passes before the senses. One set of eyes sees the number between five and seven. The other set of eyes sees the number between eight and ten.

In a post-modern world that champions all opinions and perspectives as equally valid, the greater issue is not whether the ground drawing ISeither a six or a nine, the greater issue is that we validate and celebrate both persons agreeing that the ground drawing can be EITHER a six or a nine.

We live in a world of lies, produced and promoted by the Father of Lies. From the beginning he has questioned truth. He continues to question the very idea of singular truth.

In modern social constructs offering “my truth” or “your truth” has become an effective defensive weapon when confronted over behavior or ideology.

The truth is one of the two people viewing the image is wrong. The artist outlined a six or a nine. The artist communicated a six or a nine. The artist either drew six or a nine. The artist did not draw a six and a nine. The sketch is one or the other and perspective, position, or understanding is irrelevant to determine meaning. In order to know if the number is six or a nine, you have to know the author and his intent.

This is why Christians run to the Bible to determine truth. This is why pastors encourage the church to resist and reject feelings and viewpoint, emotions and empathy as trusted interpreters of life circumstances.

• We can have a difference of opinion on whether sunrises or sunsets are more beautiful, but we cannot have a difference of opinion on the origin of the sun. God created it or he did not. Only one can be true.

• We can have a difference of opinion for finding a mate by arranged marriage, by swiping left, or by choosing the seat next to the cute girl in a freshmen lecture class, but we cannot have a difference of opinion on opposite gender attraction. God created humanity to be exclusively heterosexual or he did not. Only one can be true.

• We can have a difference of opinion on whether Dave Ramsey’s financial baby steps are the gold standard for Christians and their money, but we cannot have a difference of opinion on the means our Lord intends for the financial support of local churches and global missions. Jesus intended churches to be supported by the sacrificial and generous grace giving of his disciples or he did not. Only one can be true.

• We can have a difference of opinion on whether a local church should meet one time, two times, three times, four times of five times on a Sunday, but we cannot have a difference of opinion on the importance of the local church in the life of every Christian and in the significance of every Christian family. Jesus intended the priority of the church in the daily lives of his followers or he did not. Only one can be true.

God has revealed truth to us in his word, the Bible. Christians read the Bible, memorize the Bible, study the Bible, and listen to the teaching of the Bible to learn truth, God’s truth. We ask questions like, “What does God say about this” and “Is there anything in the Bible that I should consider?” and “Where does the Bible address how I am feeling at the moment?”

God is not looking to deceive you. The devil is looking to deceive you. The devil is telling you lies. The devil is your enemy. Your feelings, your perspective, your experiences while valuable are not trustworthy. They can be manipulated. The devil will do anything to manipulate your thinking to reject God's truth for the embrace of your own.

There is no such thing as “my truth” and “your truth.” There is only God’s truth.

To quote Jean-Luc Picard, "There are four lights!"

As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.

Fear, My Manipulative Emotion

We know God sees and observes all that happens in his creation. Unlike us, he is not limited by nearsighted vision, darkness, or obstruction. Everything and everyone everywhere is always in his line of sight. Some find this comforting while others will find it troubling.

Psalm 33 describes how God “looks” and “sees” all the people who dwell on the earth (vv.13-14). What does he see when he looks on the people of the earth? He sees what he has created – us. I like how the New Living Translation translates verse 15.

He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do.

What does God understand about me…about you? Everything, of course, but he understands us specifically too. The verses in the Psalm that follow shed some light.

16. No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
17. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

18. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy,
19. To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

20. Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.
21. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.
22. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You.

He understands I often live in a great deal of fear.

I’ve structured my world to reduce fear by assembling armies of insurance companies, savings accounts, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and identity theft monitoring.

I’ve disciplined my body to reduce risks of disease and injury.

I’ve placed around me people I trust in order to prevent betrayals, and I've aligned myself with people who are stronger than I am in order to overcome weaknesses, opponents and threats.

Despite all of this, I live in fear.

None of my preventive measures can save me in the battle against overwhelming forces. I’m doomed, and I know it. I live in fear of the inevitable.

• No one can save me from accidental death.

• No one can save me from irresistible temptation.

• No one can save me from betrayal.

• No one can save me from bankruptcy.

• No one can save me from bitterness.

• No one can save me from satanic attacks.

• No one can save me from soul starvation.

• No one can save me from complete failure.

The psalmist’s world is my world, and I want the psalmist’s response to be mine too. I want to always remember the Lord’s eye is on me to deliver me and keep me alive (vv.18-19). I want to always recall he helps me and he defends me (v.20). I want to live happy because I can trust in him, and I don’t have to trust in every plan and action that I have made for myself or that others have made for me (v.21). I want to always say, “I hope in God” (v.22).

I’ve lived too many days in fear. I know a lot of people who live every day in fear of people and circumstances. I want live free of fears. I want to live contented. I want to live with a quiet mind. I want to sleep the sleep of the safe. I only want to fear the Lord.

All this and more can be and is true of me because the Lord looks down from heaven and sees me. Seeing me he acts for my good and his glory.

Be still, my soul, the Lord is on thy side.

As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.