Jury Duty

My An Arkie's Faith column from the April 18, 2018, issue of The Mena Star.

Have you ever received a letter asking you to report for jury duty? If so, what was your reaction? From talking to people, I have found that many people try to find an excuse that will allow them to be released from serving. When my letter came in the mail, I must admit that I wasn’t pleased. As a small businessman with no employees, If I am on jury duty, my business is closed.

I believe in our justice system, and I believe in each citizen doing his or her part, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t find serving inconvenient. When I received the phone call telling me to report to the courthouse on Thursday at 9:00 AM, my heart sank. I was in the middle of a very busy week and had been going in to work early and working late. Why did it have to be this week? I called customers to let them know that there might be a delay in completing their jobs.

When I arrived at the courthouse, I had to park a few blocks away because all the parking places near the courthouse were full. When I stepped into the courtroom, every seat was filled, and people were standing in the back. Sheriff’s deputies brought chairs to sit across the back of the room and along the sides. I looked around and saw how many potential jurors were there, and thought that I had a good chance of not being picked for the jury. I hoped it wouldn’t take too long so I could get back to work.

After roll call to find out who was present, the judge asked questions of the potential jurors to find out if they would be able to remain unbiased. His questions were simple. Several people were dismissed during this stage of the jury selection process. When the twelve jurors were picked, I breathed a sigh of relief. My name hadn’t been chosen. But after the prosecution and defense attorneys met, four jurors were dismissed. After the four were replaced, and my name still hadn’t been chosen I thought that would be it. But three of those jurors were dismissed. After one of next group of replacement jurors was replaced, the jury was finally seated, and I was able to go back to work.

As I was driving back to work, I thought about the verse in Hebrews 9:27 (NLT) where the Bible says, “each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment.” Even though I was a bit frustrated that the process of picking the jury had taken up two and a half hours of my time, I realized how important it was to the defendant that the jury was impartial so that he would receive a fair trial.

As much as I wanted a fair trial for the defendant, I don’t want a fair and impartial trial when it is my time to be judged by God. “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV) And Romans 3:23 (KJV) tells us that, “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

Fortunately, the Bible tells me that I have a mediator. “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5 (NKJV) And it also tells us that Jesus “is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.” Hebrews 7:24,25 (NLT)

In this heavenly trial, who is the judge, who is the accuser, who is the witness, and who is the defense attorney? “The Ancient of Days was seated … the court was seated, and the books were opened. Daniel 7:9,10 (NKJV) God the Father, the Ancient of Days, presides in the judgment. 1 John 2:1 (NKJV) tells us that “we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Jesus is our defense attorney, our advocate. But in a strange twist, Jesus is also our judge. “The Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son.” John 5:22 (NKJV)

Who is our accuser? Many people think that God accuses us. But even though we all have many things to be accused of, God isn’t our accuser. The Bible tells us that “Satan, who deceives the whole world” is “the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night.” Revelation 12:9,10 (NKJV) Satan is your only accuser. In the heavenly court, Jesus, who loves you, and is your best friend, will be your attorney, judge, and witness. I like my chances before that court.

You and I are no match for Satan, but with Jesus as the judge and our defense attorney, we can face the judgment without fear. Throughout history, Satan has presented God as a harsh, demanding, and relentless God, who is ready to condemn us. Many of us as Christians have helped Satan in his quest to paint God as a harsh, demanding tyrant. Don’t listen to Satan’s lies.

Gentle Reader, instead of being afraid and dreading judgment, we can look forward to judgment because we know that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Rom. 8:1 (NIV) The Bible makes this very clear in John 3:16-16 (NKJV) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” I hope that you believe in Jesus as your Saviour. You can’t have a better defense attorney.

A Little Help From My Friends

My An Arkie's Faith column from the April 11, 2018, issue of The Mena Star.

In the summer of 1967, The Beatles released their seminal album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album number one on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” The album has sold more than 33 million copies, making it one of the best-selling albums in history. 

During the recording of the album, John and Paul wrote a song specifically for Ringo to sing. Drummer Ringo sang a song on most of The Beatles albums. The song they wrote was titled, “With a Little Help from My Friends.”

After an all-night recording session, laying down the backing tracks for the song, an exhausted Ringo began to trudge up the stairs. Ringo was often very nervous when it came time to record his vocals, so his fellow Beatles hatched a plan. Ringo was almost at the top of the stairs when Paul called out, “where are you going, Ringo?” “Home, to bed,” Ringo replied. “Nah, let's do the vocal now,” Paul answered. Ringo looked to the others for support. “But I'm knackered,” he protested. But both John and George were taking Paul's side. “No, come on back here and do some singing for us,” John said. Reluctantly, Ringo took his place at the microphone.

Recording engineer Geoff Emerick recalls in his memoir, Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles; “To the sleepy Beatles' delight, it only took Starr a few takes to nail most of his part. Perhaps the shock tactic of having him sing when he was least expecting it took the nervousness away, or perhaps it was just how supportive everyone was being. All three of his compatriots gathered around him, inches behind the microphone, silently conducting and cheering him on as he gamely tackled his vocal duties. It was a touching show of unity among the four Beatles.”

Since the release of the album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the song “With a Little Help from My Friends” has been a favorite. We all need a little help from our friends.

One day last week at about closing time a friend of mine stopped by the shop. He knew that my windshield warehouse had some problems. The roof had been leaking, and several of the rafters were rotten. He said, “let's repair those rafters if you have time.” I am not much of a carpenter, so I had been dreading the job. But with my friends help, that is with me mostly watching my friend and being his gopher; the job was soon completed.

My friend’s actions really lifted my spirits. It had been a tough week with many negative things happening. Parts weren’t delivered when they were supposed to. Twice I had received damaged, “new,” parts. I had a strange problem with the wiring to my heat pump at home that required more than one visit from the repairman. An acquaintance felt that they needed to criticize my writing. We all have problems in life, but we can get by with a little help from our friends.

I remembered the passage in Proverbs 18:24 (RSV) where King Soloman wrote, “there are friends who pretend to be friends, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” No matter what we have to face in life, no matter how hard things get, we have a God who is always there for us. Jesus tells us in John 15:14,15 (NKJV) “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” Jesus calls you His friend.

Joseph Scriven is not a household name. Chances are you have never heard of him. When he was 24 years old, he had an experience that changed his life. The night before he was to be married, his fiance drowned while he watched helplessly.

Many years later, Joseph was making a living as a country tutor who worked for some families in Ontario. Joseph met Eliza Roche while he was tutoring for some of her relatives. He asked Eliza to marry him, and she agreed. Shortly after their engagement Eliza fell ill with tuberculosis. She died in 1857, a few days before the date she and Joseph had set for their wedding. Fate had dealt Joseph Scriven another broken heart.

Around this time, Joseph learned that his mother was seriously ill. He didn't have the money to visit her back home in Ireland. When he wrote to her, he sent her a poem he had written as an encouragement. He called it "Pray Without Ceasing."

The first verse read, “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” Are his words familiar to you? You probably have heard them before.

Sometime later when he was ill, a friend who came to call on him happened to see the poem scribbled on scratch paper near the bed. The friend read it and asked Joseph if he had written the words. He replied, "The Lord and I did it between us."

Joseph never intended for the poem to be published, but it made its rounds as he gave copies to friends. Ira D. Sankey discovered the poem in 1875, just in time to include it in his well-known collection, Sankey's Gospel Hymns Number One. Later Sankey wrote, "The last hymn which went into the book became one of the first in favor."

Gentle Reader, you have a friend in Jesus. He is there to help you when you are going through difficult times. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Philippians 4:6 (NLT)

What Must I Do?

One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. A fireman stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to the boy, "Jump! I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As you can imagine, he was afraid to leave the roof. The fireman kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, “I can't see you." The fireman replied, "But I can see you, and that's all that matters."

In life, each one of us finds ourselves in the same situation as the young boy on the roof.  We will be destroyed unless we do something.  If we stay in our current situation, we will be destroyed by fire.  The biggest question in our lives is, what must I do to be saved. In the little boy’s situation, the answer was; jump. What is the answer in your life?

Let’s start by looking at a story in the life of Paul.  Paul and Silas had been in Philippi for some time now, staying with Lydia, the woman he met at the place of prayer down by the river. They had been moving around Philippi preaching and teaching about Jesus. Following them around day after day is a slave woman whose owner made a profit off of her gift of clairvoyance, for it was believed she could tell fortunes and predict the future. This woman was shouting out to Paul and Silas saying, “These men are slaves of the Most High God.”

Initially, her shouts probably worked to Paul’s advantage, helping him gather a crowd, but after some days, he had had enough. Paul turns to the woman, in exasperation one day, without ever speaking to her directly, tells the spirit to come out of her, which it does.

The woman’s owners become outraged at their loss of potential revenue and haul Paul and Silas into court. They do not charge them with the loss of value to their property; rather they bring charges of disturbing the peace and advocating Jewish customs which are contrary to Roman law.

The crowd gets into it, the magistrates make an example of the men by stripping and having them whipped; and then jailed in the innermost cell with their feet placed in stocks.

While in prison, Paul and Silas begin to sing hymns and pray.  The singing and praying are interrupted by an earthquake; the cells are shaken, the doors opened, the chains fall off. The jailer runs to the scene, and is about to do himself in since he is responsible for keeping the prisoners in their cells when Paul calls out – we’re all still here; All are still here – the other prisoners, Silas, Paul. They have been freed, but they remain in their cells.

Let’s turn to the story in Acts 16:25-30. "But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”

Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

There is that all important question.  What must I do to be saved?

In verse 31 Paul and Silas give the answer, “So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Believe in Jesus. There is the answer. It seems so simple. Just believe. Is there more to it than that? It seems that we as humans are always trying to add more to the answer. It has to be more difficult than that. Before we dig a little deeper into the subject, I want us to go back to the illustration of the little boy on the roof. All he had to do to be saved was believe in the fireman. But it couldn’t be words alone – He couldn’t just say I believe you can catch me. He had to jump.

Let’s look at another story in the Bible where the question, what must I do to be saved, is asked. Turn to Matthew 19:16-22, “Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions."

This wealthy man asked the all-important question: What must I do to be saved?  But notice how he asked the question. The way he worded the question tells us a lot about him. What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? I think that many of us can relate to this man. I’m leading a pretty good life. What other good thing do I need to do to be saved? When we read the story, we like the answer that Jesus gave at first. Keep the commandments. The wealthy man wants to know which ones. Even after confirming that he has kept them all he asks, “What do I still lack?'

Jesus said, “Well if you are really serious about this whole business and you really want to be perfect, why don’t you go out and sell what you have and fully serve your neighbor.”

The young ruler wasn’t expecting that kind of an answer. He liked the “limited realm” of righteousness where people stop doing things. He was good at it. He stepped back when Jesus pointed him to the “continuous realm” of righteousness where there is no limit and no end of really caring for other people.

Jesus had pointed beyond the negative ten, to the positive law of love. That, of course, was more than the young ruler was ready to commit himself to. He felt relatively comfortable with the negative law.
He was good at not doing this and that, but he was not ready for the unlimited reach of God’s law into every area of his life.

Many of us are very uncomfortable with this whole concept of being a Christian as Jesus explained it. We tend to be Pharisees by nature. We are very happy with negative approaches to law because we like to know where the limits are.

We feel more comfortable when we can see the extent of our obligations. Jesus wants us to see that his true followers aren’t trying to see what the limits of their obligations are. He taught this lesson to Peter in Matthew 18. Peter was concerned about how many times he should forgive his neighbor.  In Matthew 18:21 we read, “Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

Peter knew what the rabbis had to say on the topic. They had concluded that the Lord forgives three times, and the fourth time He lets sinners have it. Well, rabbinic logic suggested that you cannot be more generous than God. Therefore, they concluded, three times should be the limit of human forgiveness. Peter thought that surely seven times was more than enough. Jesus saw things differently. "Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”  Matthew 18:22. Once again, Jesus points out that his true followers aren’t trying to see what the limits of their obligations are.

In actuality Peter was not asking “How much can I love my neighbor?” But he wanted to know, “When can I stop loving my neighbor?” That’s a very human question. I like that question. When can I stop loving my neighbor? That is where we are as natural people.

When can I stop all this niceness and give people what they deserve? I don’t like grace. Grace is giving people what they don’t deserve. I don’t mind getting it, but I don’t really like passing grace on to others.

Jesus then goes on to tell a story to illustrate his point. While settling his account with his servants, a man was brought before the king. He owed the king 10,000 talents. When it was decreed that he and his wife and children were to be sold for the debt, he begged for patience and promised to pay the debt. The king forgave his debt and released him.

The servant then went out and found a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii and demanded payment. The man begged for patience and promised to pay the debt, but the servant had him thrown in prison. When the king found out what the servant had done, he told him, “shouldn't you have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you”?

The point of the story is that sinners, who have been forgiven an impossible debt, must pass on God’s mercy to their fellow humans, just as God has had mercy on them.

Jesus taught Peter that there is never a time when he could stop loving his neighbor or stop passing on God’s grace. Jesus taught that there is no limit to Christian love.

Like Peter, we are much more comfortable with the negative than the positive approach to law. We want to know when we have fulfilled our quota of goodness so we can relax and be our normal selves.

Focusing on the negative limits the scope of righteousness and makes it humanly manageable and achievable. Legalists focus on the “thou shalt not’s” and the “small sins,” because with that focus they feel they can achieve perfection.

Legalists love to talk about negative and minute behaviors. Dr. George Knight writes about a conversation he had. He was together with some friends after an afternoon seminar, and they were discussing the sin of David, when one of them said, “Well, some people have that sin to overcome. Mine is eating granola between meals.” From the friends perspective, he had almost arrived at perfection. Unfortunately, that negative approach to law falls far short of the ideal that Jesus taught.

There is a type of righteousness that picks on smaller and smaller units of action. Jesus taught the reverse. The Christian way is the endless righteousness expressed in caring for God and humanity that one finds summarized in the two great commandments. Matthew 22:36-39  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”  Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

It was that very ideal that drove the rich young ruler (with his smaller-and-smaller mentality) away from Christ in utter frustration.

We, like the rich young ruler, like to define sin as some small negative action, because anybody can overcome a habit if he or she tries hard enough. On the other hand, I have an impossible time loving all my neighbors all the time.

I can get the victory over cheese, peanut butter, or “granola between meals” any old time, but it takes God’s grace for me to love all my neighbors all the time, particularly when my neighbor is defined by Jesus in a manner that includes enemies.

So we want to know the limits of love and Christian living so that we can know when we have arrived. Human perverseness loves the negative approach to law because it limits the scope of righteousness.

It makes perfection humanly achievable. Strangely, many think that an emphasis on the two great commandments is a watering down of the demands laid upon the Christian in daily living. Christ repeatedly demonstrated the opposite to be true.

No one can ever be saved or become perfect by not working on Sabbath or avoiding theft or not committing adultery. In fact, no one will ever be saved because of what he or she has not done.
Ellen White wrote, “We should not make self the center and indulge anxiety and fear as to whether we shall be saved. All this turns the soul away from the Source of our strength. Commit the keeping of your soul to God, and trust in Him. Talk and think of Jesus. Let self be lost in Him. Put away all doubt; dismiss your fears. Say with the apostle Paul, “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20. Rest in God. He is able to keep that which you have committed to Him.”

Christianity is a positive, not a negative.  Whether we like it or not (and the Pharisees of old certainly did not like it), Jesus put the standard of righteousness higher than people care to reach.  Most of us much prefer a standard based on definitely quantifiable things like diet, dress, Sabbath keeping, tithing, etc. In fact, it is our emphasis on human accomplishment that proves that we have merely shifted our pride from human accomplishment in worldly endeavors to human accomplishment in spiritual things.

The predicament of outward obedience accompanied by a lack of inward Christianity is one of the most spiritually dangerous situations we can be in. People who are deceived in this point may feel quite satisfied with themselves spiritually because they are doing what is right. I refer to this as spiritual arrogance.

That was the problem with the Pharisees of old. Never forget that they sincerely kept the law but put Christ on the cross. There has traditionally been a spirit of meanness among those who focus on laws rather than God’s character.

That meanness is especially aimed at those who disagree with them theologically and who may not be as zealous as they are on particular laws or rules or regulations. God’s plea is for us to get our priorities right. He wants us to believe in Him and surrender our will to Him so that we can truly keep His laws. The order is essential and crucial. The correct order keeps us away from a legalistic bookkeeping approach to salvation that recreates God into the image of a first-century Pharisee. Why would we as Christians want to emulate the Pharisees?

The point to remember is that if we are safe in Jesus, He will live out His life in us. That means that not only will our love be refocused from our self to God and others, but it means that God’s love will be the basis for our every action.

Christianity is not just an improvement on the old life. It is a total transformation of a person’s way of thinking, acting, and living. The Christian is not only in Christ, but Christ is in him or her through the softening power of the Holy Spirit.

How I treat my neighbor is the acid test of Christianity. For too long, Christians have applied John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments,” to the Ten Commandments. Read John 13, 14, and 15, and see what the context is. “I command you,” Jesus says over and over in these chapters, “to love one another.

Out of that principle and only out of it comes a meaningful keeping of God’s laws.
• Because I love my neighbor, I will not covet my neighbor’s car, house, wife, or husband.
• Because I love my neighbor, I cannot use him or her as a sexual object for my pleasure.
• Because I love my neighbor, I will not take things that belong to him.
• Because I love my neighbor, I will not kill or even hate him.

Love to God and neighbor is the centerpiece of Christianity. “By this,” said Jesus, “all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Let’s go back to the story of the boy on the roof. One night a house caught fire, and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. A fireman stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to the boy, "Jump! I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As you can imagine, he was afraid to leave the roof. The fireman kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, “I can't see you." The fireman replied, "But I can see you, and that's all that matters."

What must I do to be saved?  I need to trust Jesus so much that I will jump into his arms. He can’t save me if I don’t trust him enough to jump. He can’t save me if I am busy trying to save myself. It’s time for us to really believe in the Lord Jesus Christ: Believe enough to surrender our will and jump into his arms. Will you jump with me today?

Jesus Wept

My An Arkie's Faith column from the April 4, 2018, issue of The Mena Star.

As I sit at my computer this morning to write, it is Good Friday and the Easter weekend is approaching. My granddaughters are still asleep, and the house is quiet. My sister and her family are here for a visit. I’m looking forward to a great weekend.

Because of the Easter season, I have been thinking about the final week of Jesus' life. One of the stories that I remember from that final week is of Jesus crying for the city of Jerusalem. If He cried over the city of Jerusalem, can you imagine how He is crying over the world today?

When I was growing up, I attended a small church in Fort Lupton, Colorado with my family. The small church shared a pastor with another church. Sometimes when the pastor wasn't there for the mid-week prayer service, those in attendance would take turns reciting a favorite text. Being somewhat of a smart aleck, I thought it was amusing to say that my favorite verse was John 11:35. “Jesus wept.”

As I have been studying recently, it has become a favorite verse of mine. I believe the simple words, “Jesus wept,” may reveal as much about Jesus as any other words ever said about Him.

I’m sure that you remember the story of Lazarus. When he became ill, his sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, the one you love is very sick.” Jesus chose to wait until Lazarus had died before He came. We read the story in John 11:33-35 (NLT). “When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within Him, and He was deeply troubled. ‘Where have you put him?’ He asked them. They told him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Then Jesus wept.”

Let me ask you a question. Why did Jesus cry? Was it because of his love for Lazarus? He knew Lazarus would be alive in a few minutes. Jesus was crying because of the grief of his friends. Their sorrow moved him. Jesus is painfully aware of your suffering. When you cry, He is aware. Psalms 56:8 (NLT) tells us, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”

There is one other place in the Bible where it tells us that Jesus cried. We find it in Luke 19:41 (ICB). “Jesus came near Jerusalem. He saw the city and began to cry for it.” Why was Jesus crying? Was He crying for a city?  I think that Luke 13:34 (NLT) gives us some insight into this story. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.”

Jesus was crying for the people of Jerusalem. He had come to save them, but most were not willing to be saved. Even though they had rejected him and his salvation, He had compassion on them.

As Christians our example is Jesus. If we are to follow the example of Jesus, how should we relate to sinners? We should have compassion. It seems to me that many Christians have lost their compassion. As I look around, I don’t always see Christians dealing with others with compassion. I am more apt to see hate than compassion.

I don’t want to meddle, but maybe I will a little bit. Think about a few of the hot button topics of our day and see what your response is toward the following groups. Gays, Muslims, Adulterers, Abortionists, Thieves, Drug Dealers, Prostitutes, Atheists. Do you have compassion for them, or is your response something different? Can you hate someone while you are praying for their salvation? Should we hate someone that Jesus loves and was willing to die for?

Following the example of Jesus and having compassion on sinners is very liberating. It allows us to leave the judging up to God while we practice the self-sacrificing love He demonstrated on the cross. It allows us to hold ourselves to a high moral standard without feeling that we must hate those who do not see things the way we do.

Daniel Darling states, "we must not allow our protest against values with which we disagree to overshadow our responsibility to show Christ's love for the world. It may very well be the person who offends us the most whom God is in the process of saving. And our gracious response might be the bridge that the Spirit uses to usher him from death to life.”

A very popular catchphrase in Christianity is, "What Would Jesus Do?"  WWJD is found on jewelry, emblazoned on bumper stickers and has made its way into popular culture. The only way to determine what Jesus would do is by learning what Jesus did. Romans 5:8 (NKJV) tell us that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jesus cried for a city of sinners who rejected him. He asked his Father to forgive those who tortured and killed him. We should love the sinner as Christ loved us sinners and by our conduct and words, model a better way. When we uplift the right and the good, sin will appear in its true colors. However, if we do not model the love of Christ and give no evidence of His power in our lives, no amount of argument will induce the sinner to give up his sin. Holding a sign that says “God Hates You” is not an effective way to witness to sinners.

Gentle Reader, let’s follow the example of Jesus and love sinners and hate the sin in our own lives. John, the disciple that Jesus loved, tells us in 1 John 4:8 (NKJV) that “he who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

Crankshaft Position Sensor

My An Arkie's Faith column from the March 28, 2018, issue of The Mena Star.

Last month as we were driving our Kia, the engine stumbled momentarily, and the tachometer dropped to zero. The Kia continued to run, but with limited power. We continued on our way but found that once we stopped the Kia and restarted it, the tachometer worked again and the engine had full power. We were traveling for several hours that day, and the Kia stumbled several more times. Each time we just had to stop and restart the engine for the Kia to operate properly again.

When we returned home, I had the trouble codes scanned and found that the code for a faulty crankshaft position sensor was present. As I researched the problem I was having, I found that many Kia owners had experienced the same problem. I decided to replace the crankshaft position sensor myself. I ordered a new sensor from a local auto parts store and installed it. When I finished installing the sensor, the car wouldn’t start. It exhibited some very crazy symptoms. The car engine would only turn over a couple of times and then it would stop. The tachometer would read 8,000 RPM’s even though the engine was not turning over. There was a buzzing noise coming from the engine until I would disconnect the battery. I was stumped.

Before I installed the new sensor, the Kia had been drivable even though the engine occasionally stumbled. But now it was disabled in my shop. I used the internet to research my problem, but couldn’t find anyone who had dealt with similar symptoms. I decided to put the old sensor back in so I could still drive the car, but nothing changed when I did. After spending several hours doing everything I could think of, I gave up and called a repair shop. I towed the Kia to the shop and dropped it off. When the mechanic called me, he told me that he had found a blown fuse, and the Kia was running again.

I decided to reinstall the new sensor. When I finished installing the sensor and tried to start the car, once again it wouldn’t start. I knew which fuse had blown, so I checked it, and sure enough, it was blown. I unplugged the sensor and then changed the fuse. The moment that I plugged the sensor back in, the fuse blew. The sensor must have a short in it, I thought. I called the auto parts store, and they ordered a replacement sensor. When I installed the replacement sensor, the Kia started right up and ran fine. My problems had been caused by a defective new part.

As I thought about all of the time and money I had spent on the Kia, I realized that part of the problem was with my troubleshooting. Of all of the things that I considered while I was trying to figure out the problem, I never considered that the new part might be bad. I assumed that because it was brand new, it couldn’t be the problem, so I looked elsewhere.

Sometimes in life, we do the same thing. We are so sure that some things are true that we don’t investigate them. I see this phenomenon on a daily basis on social media. People will repost articles that with a little research can be proven to be false. But because they believe the premise or agree with the slant of the article, they repost it without investigation. We have become a society of fake news.

Most Christians are a bit like I was while I was working on my Kia. They are so sure of a lot of their beliefs that they never investigate them. God wants us to believe. John 3:16 (NKJV) tells us that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God wants us to believe, but it does make a difference what we believe.

When Jesus was talking with the Pharisees in Matthew 15:3 (NKJV) He asked them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” He continued. “you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.” Matthew 15:6 (NKJV) The Pharisees were so sure of their beliefs and traditions that they would never even consider the possibility that they were wrong.

Jesus had some strong words for the Pharisees, and possibly for us, in Matthew 15:7-9 (NKJV) “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

I have noticed that many Christians believe very strongly in their traditions. Traditions are not inherently good or bad, right or wrong. Some people defend traditions because the church has practiced it that way for years. Christians should be neither "traditional" nor "non-traditional.” They should neither accept nor oppose a practice simply because it is a tradition. It doesn’t matter how long we have practiced something or when it began. What’s important is what God’s word says about it. If God's word requires it, then we must do it. If God's word forbids it, then we must oppose it even if it is a tradition. If God’s word is silent, then there is no problem with tradition, but I can’t expect all Christians to follow just because it is my tradition.

Gentle Reader, are you following God, or are you following human traditions and doctrines that differ from His word? Don’t just accept that everything you believe is true. All truth will stand up to close investigation. “Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (AMP)

Old Washington

My An Arkie's Faith column from the March 21, 2018, issue of The Mena Star.

Washington, Arkansas is a peaceful tree-shaded town and one of the most amazing historic places in Arkansas. The old town still looks like the 19th century with plank board sidewalks and streets that have never been paved. Most of the town is now a part of Historic Washington State Park. It is commonly referred to as Old Washington. In the State Park, there are over thirty restored historic structures including the oldest building in Arkansas built of hand-hewn timber.

From its establishment in 1826, Washington was an important stop for pioneers traveling to Texas. Frontiersmen James Bowie, Sam Houston, and Davy Crockett all traveled through Washington on their way to the Alamo. Houston planned parts of the revolt strategy in a tavern in Washington during 1834.  James Black, a local blacksmith, is credited with creating the legendary Bowie knife carried by Jim Bowie at his blacksmith shop in Washington.

Following the capture of Little Rock by the Union Army in 1863, the Confederate government moved the state government offices to Hot Springs for a short time, then moved the state government to Washington, making it the Capital of Confederate Arkansas from 1863-1865. When the railroad that connected much of the state with Little Rock was built in the late 19th century, it was eight miles from Washington. Because it was no longer on the main travel route, Washington began a slow decline. Most of the businesses in Washington moved to Hope, Arkansas, which was on the railroad.

In 1958, townspeople formed the Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation to preserve the town's old structures. The once thriving community that had served as the capitol of Arkansas during the Civil War was now home to less than 300 people. In 1973 the area became an Arkansas State Park. The park contains 54 vintage buildings, 30 of which are on the National Register of Historic Places.

For the past fifty years, the town of Washington has held a Jonquil Festival each spring. My wife and I attended this year’s festival. It was a warm sunny day, and the tiny town was crowded with thousands of people. The event included arts and crafts vendors, food, music, a car show and a tractor show. Many of the historic homes were open for tours.

At the old blacksmith shop, there were several blacksmiths giving demonstrations. I enjoyed watching the blacksmiths at work. My wife’s grandfather was born in 1855 and was a blacksmith by trade in Stratton, Colorado. Her Dad said that when he was a boy, you could hear his father’s anvil ringing all over town. When the anvil quit ringing, you had better get home. It was time for supper.

As I watched the blacksmith at work, he took a flat bar of steel and shaped it into a knife. He placed the bar of steel into the glowing coals until the steel was red hot. Then he took the steel out of the coals and shaped it on the anvil by beating it with a hammer. The process had to be repeated many times to shape the bar of steel into a knife.

When a blacksmith is working with metal, the only way that he can shape it if he has heated it in the fire. In Isaiah 44:12 (NKJV) the Bible says that “the blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals, fashions it with hammers, and works it with the strength of his arms.” And in Isaiah 48:10 (NIV) God says, “I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” Have you ever felt like you were being tested in the furnace of affliction? I know I have.

As the blacksmith at Old Washington was demonstrating his craft, he stuck the metal he was shaping deep into the burning coals and cranked the bellows until the coals flared up in brilliant flames. The metal bar glowed bright orange from the intense heat. He pulled it from the heat, explaining that the metal needed to be hot enough to be pliable but that he didn't want to melt it. Swinging around to his anvil, he shaped the metal bar with carefully placed blows from his hammer. I watched as he made mental calculations as to the amount of heat and the points of impact needed to form the metal to the shape he wanted.

The blacksmith would heat the metal, rough out the basic shape, inspect his work and heat it again to focus on the details. It was interesting to see a simple length of metal rod being converted into something useful. It had no resemblance to the plain bar it once had been.

Gentle Reader, I can't say that I enjoy the heat, but I’m thankful that God is refining and shaping my life. Steel in the hand of a skilled blacksmith is malleable and not resilient. If the steel was resilient, then it would always bounce back to its original shape and be useless to anybody. I want to be useful, and the only way for a bar of steel to be transformed into something useful is to be put in the fire and shaped on the anvil. Remember that if you are being tried and shaped in the fires of life, that “it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 (NRSV)

Samson

My An Arkie's Faith column from the March 14, 2018, issue of The Mena Star.

My wife and I were spending the weekend in Branson, Missouri the weekend that the musical Samson opened at the Sight and Sound Theater. We purchased tickets and made plans to attend.
Sight and Sound is a 2,000-seat, state-of-the-art theater featured a 300-foot panoramic stage that wraps around the audience, with sets four stories tall. It is a spectacular place to see a show.

I was a bit apprehensive about the show. How would they treat the story of Samson? They could be true to the biblical narrative and still have a production filled with sex and violence. What would their focus be? In the brochure about the play, I read: “Samson literally will bring down the house. But for all the spectacle, Samson is first a story of hope. It’s for the wayward and weary—or those who know and love them.” I settled into my seat and waited for the production to begin.

The story of Samson is one of those stories that has made me sometimes wonder why it’s even in the Bible. Samson’s strength is incredible and makes such a fascinating kid’s story. He killed a lion with his bare hands. He killed thirty men at one time. He easily broke the ropes used to bind him. He killed 1,000 men with a donkey’s jawbone. He lifted the great city gates of Gaza off their hinges and carried them for miles, and with his last ounce of strength, he knocked down the pillars of Dagon’s temple, killing 3,000 people. But parts of Samson’s story are risqué enough for an adult-only film.

At the very beginning, the narrator pointed out that Samson is mentioned in the book of Hebrews as being a man of faith. He is listed as a man “who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” Hebrews 11:33,34 (NKJV)

I hadn’t thought about the fact that Samson is mentioned in the Bible as being a man of faith along with people such as Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. When I thought about Samson, I thought about a man who turned to violence to solve his problems and a man who could not control his passions. But God saw Samson as a man of faith. How could that be?

The production did feature Samson’s tremendous strength. During the intermission, I overheard one of the ushers talking with a small boy. The usher said, “Don’t you think that Samson is a superhero?” The boy answered, “Yes he is, but he is real because he is in the Bible.” But throughout the show, the narration kept pointing out God’s grace. The story of Samson is a story of tremendous strength, but it is also a story of tremendous weakness.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Jeff Bender, the director, writer and producer of Samson said, “the production is for the wayward and weary, but the biggest most important message of the show is about grace and God's grace for us." "We are all sinners!" he continued. "None of us are perfect; the only perfect person ever was Jesus. We are all messed up, we all have our problems that we deal with, but God's grace is always there for us no matter what we do, no matter who we are, no matter where we go, it's always there."

When I think about Samson, I think about how strong he was; but at the same time, I think about how weak he was. Although he had superhuman strength, He was a weakling when he battled against sin and temptation! Samson lived in sin all too often. He had little or no self-control. It seems that he fell for evil every time. But God never gave up on him. God never left him.

In an interview, the actor who played Samson said; "If I could say anything to anybody, it's that God's grace is there for you no matter what you've done, no matter what you think you've done, no matter how bad a person you think you are, no matter how many mistakes you've made – God still loves you. God still wants to reach out to you. God still wants you. He still thirsts for you. His grace is readily available for you."

Even in his weakness and failures, God used Samson anyway. His strength came from God. Sometimes we forget that God chose to work through Samson even though he had moral failings. He ruled Israel for 20 years and defeated many of Israel’s enemies.

Even at Samson’s lowest point, God didn’t forsake him. Judges 16:21 (NLT) tells us that, “the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison.” Even in these terrible circumstances, God was with Samson, and Samson remembered God. Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.” Judges 16:28 (NLT)

Gentle Reader, In spite of Samson’s weakness, God was able to use him. That can only be because of God’s grace. We too, in spite of our weaknesses, can be used by God, not because of how good we are, but through His grace. God says to you, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV) Samson’s story is a story of grace, and your story can be too.