A Wartime Reminisence Triggered by the Rhetoric in the Wake of Newtown

 I was absolutely devastated by the murder of the innocents in Newtown last week. Certainly I am not alone in this. As a result there is much discussion and debate over what should be done. Should guns be outlawed? Should we amend the Constitution to eliminate the 2nd Amendment? What should be done with the mentally ill? Should armed guards be stationed in our schools? On and on it goes. I don't have the answer, but I do think that the debate does indicate that something must be done in controlling guns, treating the mentally ill and seriously looking at violence in our media. What follows is some of my personal thoughts about guns.

I confess that I have never owned a gun, but I have used them for recreation (target shooting) as a child and youth. I also used guns as a professional military officer. I must say that I like guns. Shooting is a lot of fun. The one fun part of my preparation before embarking for Viet Nam was "playing John Wayne" at Camp Pendleton. Yet, I found when I went to Nam that this was no longer fun. Seeing people maimed and killed is not fun even though movies and video games make it seem exciting.

I am not for doing away with the Second Amendment. Yet, there must be limits. I lived for a year in an environment where everyone was armed -- and I didn't like it. Here are four vignettes illustrating my fear of everyone roaming around armed:

1. One never knows the mental state of another who is armed. Those of us with vehicles were encouraged to pick up men who were looking for a ride and I complied. This led to one of my most fearful few moments over there. I picked up a man -- obviously just back from the front lines. He had his M16 in hand. As he got into the vehicle, I noticed his glazed eyes and a dazed expression on his face. He kept mumbling to himself and fingering his weapon. I wondered what he was thinking. I kept asking him where he wanted to go. He never answered. I went to my destination, got out and so did he. He than wandered off. Nothing happened, but it was frightening anyway.
2. A gun can make a relatively simple situation into deadly confrontation. One of my best friends at Naval Support Activity Danang was the security officer. One of the normal duties was pursuing troops that were going into "off limits" ares looking for sex and or drugs. In the military, this is a relatively benign activity, but with the troops all armed, he had a number of running gun battles US Troops vs. US Troops over a relatively minor infraction. Not pretty!
3. A simple argument -- even a fight becomes deadly if a gun is present. When I stationed at Binh Thuy, some of my men would come in from their detachments for a few days of rest and relaxation (you know that their conditions were bad if they came to Binh Thuy for a good time.) Of course the men were armed, but left their weapons in my room while they were there. One evening I received a call to report to the Enlisted Men's Club immediately. One of my men aptly nick named Bull had all of the patrons lined up against the back wall while he threatened them all with a M60 machine gun (you have to be a Bull to manhandle the weapon.) A simple argument had escalated, Bull retrieved his weapon from my room and took matters into his own hands. Thankfully I was able to talk Bull into returning the weapon to me. All weapons should not be readily available to volatile individuals.
4. Fear when armed can cause one to kill and innocent person. One day while driving my vehicle through a small village traffic caused me to stop for a moment. I had my left arm resting in the open window. I was not looking at my surroundings but was lost in thought about my job. Suddenly I felt something hit my arm and then something fell into my lap. Immediately I thought, "Grenade." Even though this wouldn't have helped much, my gun was in my hands, I was getting out of the vehicle, ready to kill the perpetrator. The person that was running was a little boy. He had snatched my watch from my arm (the hit to my arm) and the watch band fell in my lap. Nothing serious, but I could have killed that child. 

We talk about protecting our home and family. Should an armed intruder be killed? I think that I would kill someone like the Newtown killer if it could save the children. I could also probably kill to protect my family. But, I so often here people say, "If they come into my house I can and will kill them." Does a thief deserve the death penalty? There must be some limitations placed on firearms. After all, my help doesn't come from my gun, as a Christian, my help comes from the Lord. I may also comment later on the treatment of the mentally ill and our violent culture.

A Tale of Two First Year Coaches

A Modern Parable

Once upon a time there were two coaches who started out to coach. They were the finest of coaches of the sport called football.

The first coach wandered to the West and then wandered to the North Country. This coach did have experience, but he needed a new place to coach. Let's call his name Mike Leach. When he arrived at the school where he was to coach, he found the football team in much disarray; they were abysmal! "We must change the entire culture of the football team. We will be working very hard. Life will become very unpleasant, but, always remember, it is more fun to win than it is to lose. Stick with me and you will begin to win." Well, this was a tough word to hear for the football team, which shall be called Washington State. The team began to grumble; some even quit! When the trials of facing good football teams began in earnest, WSU began to lose. Lo, more men quit the team, and the coach was even heard to curse the team. Now, as we approach the end of the season, WSU is firmly seated in the cellar of the Pac12 North.

The second coach wandered to the West and then wandered to the South Country; he could even smell the roses. This coach also had experience but heeded a new place to coach. Let's call his name Jim Mora. When he arrived at the school where he was to coach, he found the football team in much disarray; they were abysmal! "We must change the entire culture of the football team. We will be working very hard. Life will become very unpleasant, but, always remember, it is more fun to win than it is to lose. Stick with me and you will begin to win." Well, this was a tough word to hear for the football team, which shall be called UCLA. But, this team listened to the coach. They followed his directions and, even though they had a lowly freshman for a Quarterback, when the rials of facing good football teams began in earnest, UCLA began to win. They continued to win and the coach rose up and pronounced them blessed. Now, as we approach the end of the season, UCLA is firmly seated as the champion of the Pac 12 South; they even dispatched the vaunted warriors of Troy!

A good team always needs a good coach. Many of us have a life coach (Oh, to be sure he is more than that,) in Jesus Christ. He tells us, "We must change our entire culture. Life can be hard and unpleasant, but it is better to win at life than to lose.

Unfortunately some hear these words and and want to quit. They don't do what the coach says. When the trials of life come upon them, they end up defeated. Some would say that it as if they built their house upon sand, with no foundation.

Others here these words and stand firm. They do as the coach says. When the trials of life come upon them, they reign as champions at life. Some would say that it is as if they built their house upon rock with a strong foundation.

I thought about this as I was watching football on Saturday. My apologies to Mike Leach and the WSU team, I understand that there is more to the story. I also apologize to the Apostle Matthew for trivializing some wonderful scripture.

Be Prepared Part 1

When I set up a schedule for the series of sermons from Paul's Letter to the Ephesians, I really wasn't looking at holidays; certainly not Veteran's day. But, sure enough, last Sunday, my sermon was based on Ephesians 6:10-20:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Ephesians 6:10-20 NIV)

I thought that this was appropriate since this passage defines how one should prepare for a spiritual battle. There are certainly parallels to how we should prepare for battle in earthly war. 

The first item is to be aware that we are in a war. Since WWII, we have seen "wars" (sometimes euphemistically named like "Police Action" in Korea) in Korea, Viet Nam and Iraq (twice), and Afghanistan. We have also been involved in Grenada and Panama. I have probably missed something, but you get the idea. Some kind of war has been at the heart of our national experience, over and over again; unfortunately, it seems to be somewhat normal. We rightly do honor those who place themselves in harms way so that we can continue to live as we do, yet the average American is really somewhat distanced from the war itself; in fact, even the honoring of our service men and women allows us to further distance ourselves because we honor those who are over there. It is never about "us" being at war. I just read something on the Gallup website today;  "On this Veterans Day, 13% of U.S. adults are veterans, including 24% of men and 2% of women. Veteran status is above 60% among men 75 and older, but no more than 12% for men younger than 35." Those of us who are "seniors" are far more likely to be veterans than those younger. Why is this? I think it has a lot to do with WWII and its aftermath. 

One of the main reasons that there are more of us seniors as veterans is the military draft. The draft was certainly very heavy during WWII, but it continued through the early 60s. There was a renewed draft for the Viet Nam war, but it took a much smaller group of draftees (of course if you were one of them, it didn't seem so negligible!) Secondly, WWII was a huge conflict in some way or other involving everyone in the nation. This brings me to the other issue that I mentioned earlier, that of distancing oneself from the conflict. During WWII, it wasn't the military at war; we were at war. If you weren't in the service, you worked in a defense plant, worked in construction at military bases or other war related activities. All people sacrifice through rationing; food, gasoline, tires -- even nylon stockings. There was no such thing as buying a new car or new house -- they weren't being built. It was impossible to distance yourself from the conflict.

The passage of scripture quoted above assumes that there is a war going on. I believe it is so. Those of you who don't believe in a spiritual domain, whether you are a believer in Jesus or not, will assume that I am somewhat crazy. So be it. I do believe that there is a spiritual world that exists and there are some very hostile elements in this world. I don't believe that the government, a political party or even individuals are enemies of us trying to kill us. Of course there is some hostility among people -- but that is not the issue. The Apostle states that our war isn't against people -- it is against these spiritual power. I think that a significant problem with the church is that they have distance themselves from this spiritual war, just as many in America are able to distance themselves from our current wars. This causes many in the church to become complacent. Thus, we need to learn how to be alert and prepare ourselves for this conflict. I will address how this happens in Part 2.

God's Will

Have you ever wondered what God's will is for your life? I think that many of us struggle with this -- if we take God seriously. Usually when we ask God about His will for our life, we are talking about things like, "What career should I enter?"; "Who should I marry?"; "Should I enter military service?"; or a multitude of other practical life issues. But what about God's overall plan for all of us? What does he want for us? The Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians provides a real, practical answer in chapter 5, verses 15-21:

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

I think that most of us really want to be wise and not foolish, so we need to know God's will. Paul starts his explanation about God's will by telling the readers not to get drunk on wine. He really isn't just being a good Baptist here; he is making a point. In the world of Paul, many of those who worshiped idols thought that drunkenness could make there minds more responsive to their "God." Certainly these people as well as the modern reader realizes that, when we are drunk, we are not in full control of our faculties; the "spirits" (alcohol) are in control. Paul then uses this analogy to say that we need to be "filled with the Spirit." Essentially, being filled with the Spirit means that we have surrendered control of our will to that of the Holy Spirit. When we surrender, we are transformed. This is God's will for us. He wants all men and women to be saved, but that is not the end, that is the beginning. We are save by grace just as we are; we don't need to change anything. But  we are save for a purpose. That purpose is to bear much fruit; allowing ourselves to be transformed into one having a Christlike character. This is the "Fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22). 

Of course God is interested in those questions of life discussed in the first paragraph, but even the answers to these questions become more apparent once we have been transformed. What does this transformation look like? Part of the answer is given in the rest of this passage. The way we relate to one another is changed. Paul uses several participles to express this change; "Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another. . .singing and making music. . .always giving thanks. . .submitting to one another. . ." This kind of relating to others, doesn't come normally to me. It only happens when I am surrendered to God's will.

Do you want to know what the will of God is for your life? Then Be Filled with the Spirit.

The Real Thing

Last Sunday I started a new preaching series from Paul's letter to the Ephesians. I titled the series God's Empowering Presence for two reasons. The first one is because of Paul's emphasis on the Holy Spirit in this letter. One of my favorite books is God's Empowering Presence by Gordon Fee. This large (I mean really large) book is a study of Paul's understanding of the Holy Spirit. The second reason is because of my friend John Piippo, pastor in Monroe Michigan who describes his church as a Presence Driven Church; without the presence of God, there is really nothing real. I was quite intrigued with the idea of a Presence Driven Church and it seemed to me that this study of Ephesians would help us move in that direction.

Sunday I preached on verses 3-14 of chapter one which is a lengthy listing of the blessings which the Christian has in Christ. We are chosen in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight; predestined to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ; we have been redeemed through his blood; we have been forgiven and he has revealed the mystery of his will which is to bring all things in heaven and earth together under his headship. That was an abbreviated sentence. The entire passage is one sentence in the Greek. All of this ends with the statement that he has given us the Holy Spirit as the seal and guarantee of our inheritance. This is what grabbed my attention.

A seal on one hand is a protective device. Think of the warning labels that tell us not to use the Tylenol if the seal is broken. OK, the Holy Spirit is our protection; he leads into all truth, he warns us when we are tempted, etc. But, in the day in which this letter was written, the seal was an authentication of the authorship of the document. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is the authentication that something real has happened in our life. It isn't that we can recite correct doctrine (that is a good thing, but it isn't the authentication), an unbeliever may know all of the correct doctrine. The authentication is the demonstration of the Presence of God in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who changes our lives so that we bear fruit (the fruit of the Holy Spirit is the developing of a Christ like character.) He is also the one who gives us power to live this life and manifests that power through the gifts of the Spirit.

Sunday, I had a demonstration of this in the life of a young woman, Katie Klein. It was about three years ago, that Katie came as a baby Christian to be baptized. She had a real sense of innocence about her, but she was very young in the Christian life. I watched her grow. Then she became interested in being a part of YWAM (Youth with a Mission.) She went to Hawaii for training and then went to Nepal as a Missionary. She came to church to be with us last Sunday. She exhibits a new maturity in the Lord. After the service, she came to me and asked if she could pray for me. Of course I said yes. What a sweet prayer; gentle and encouraging. Yet it was a powerful prayer. I am convinced that Katie's conversion is the real thing, because it has been authenticated by the Presence of God in her life through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the real deal. May we all demonstrate this presence in our lives individually and in the church.