For God to Heal our Land!

            In many Christian circles both prayer and proclamation lift the verse from 2 Chronicles 7:14 with great passion.  “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

            It is with good reason! Our land is hurting and in deep need of God’s divine healing. Appropriately, this admonition from God addresses the critical fact that the sin and wickedness in our life as a nation has direct—and disastrous—effects on our health as a nation and as a global community. If we are going to call on God to heal our land, to heal our nation, and to heal our human community, it is vital that we are also forthright in changing our wicked ways. Below is a list of ten vital sins of wickedness that are destroying our land. If Christians are going to take 2 Chronicles 7:14 seriously—and we most certainly should take it seriously—these ten wicked acts must be eliminated across the land.

The wickedness and sin of Sodom—Failure to welcome the stranger and those in need. (Ezekiel 16:49)

The wickedness and sin of Religion—Worshipping the religion rather than serving God (Micah 6:6-8)

The wickedness and sin of Exclusion—Failure to care for those in need (Matthew 25:31-46)

The wickedness and sin of Economic Injustice and Inequality—exploitation of the poor and those in need (Amos 2:6-8)

The wickedness and sin of Violence—Using violence to achieve dominance and destroy (Matthew 26:52)

The wickedness and sin of Consumerism—Defining our value and through the things we can own and the wealth we can control (Matthew 6:19-21)

The wickedness and sin of Posturing—Bolstering toughness, authority, and arrogance (James 4:11-16)

The wickedness and sin of Judging—Looking down on others as less than you (Matthew 7:1-5)

The wickedness and sin of Control—The desire to “lord it over” others and maintain total control (Matthew 20:20-28)

The wickedness and sin of Hating the Enemy—Bowing to a culture of hate and contempt for human beings we believe are at eminently with us (Matthew 5:43-47)

These are national sins as well as personal and individual sins. They are expressed as wickedness in our homes and offices, school yards and town squares. They permeate the culture to infect many aspects of business, government, and even the church. They are fueled by social media, fear-based politics, and biased media attention. Like a cancerous infection, this wickedness is spreading through the culture and the church. It is time that the people of faith intentionally humble ourselves and pray and seek God’s face and turn from our wicked ways.

Our faith in Jesus Christ calls for no less, and empowers us for so much more. We need only follow—truly and honestly follow—Jesus Christ.  

It's time for Christians to Be Christians!

²¹  "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. ²²  On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?' ²³  Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.'” – Matthew 7:21-23 (NRSV)    

            These words of Jesus Christ strike at the heart of a critical problem in much of what passes for Christianity. Although nothing new, it is a problem that has been exacerbated lately in the news, social media, across many state capitols, and the halls of Congress ever since the horrific terrorist attacks in France last week. As Christians, we would do well to ask the question, “Will Jesus know us in judgment or send us away as evildoers?”

            It is disgraceful what has been done under the guise of Christianity in our modern culture.

·       Whole populations of human beings are written off as less than deserving of human dignity because of the actions of a small minority within their population.

·       Faith in guns and fidelity toward our rights to own and use deadly force garners more passion than fidelity to values molded by Jesus Christ.

·       Religious devotion to partisan politics frequently marries fidelity to Christ with loyalty to partisan ideals.

·       Freedom of Religion and evangelical priority are increasingly enforced by Christians as the right and obligation to impose our religion on people we do not like.

·       Believers define their relationship with Christ in terms of issues and stances, rather than service, gratitude, compassion, grace, and love.

·       We have become so obsessed with saving souls for Jesus that we fail to care for lives in Jesus’ name.

This is not Christianity. This is not the faith Jesus demonstrated to us. This is not way God calls us to faithfully follow as disciples of Jesus Christ. Rather, what we have made Christianity is nothing more than a shallow, superficial, and narcissistic religious doctrine of destruction that is rooted in fear, lived in anger, and focused on control. It is one thing to vigilantly call out the sinful distortions of the Islamic faith by those who would use terrorism as a means to promote their own perverted understanding of Islam, but as Christians we must also take a prayerful look in the mirror and do the same! For the sake of our salvation, there are some things that must change!

           

1.     Reclaim the biblical teachings regarding fear.

The explicit message of scripture is that we are not to live in fear. “Perfect love casts out all fear,” the Apostle John tells us in 1 John 4:18. In other words, if we live out of Christ and Christ’s love, there is no need to be afraid. The only times fear is used in a positive light is in reference to fearing God. Yet, even then, the word ‘fear’ is not mean that we should be afraid of God, but filled with immeasurable awe, respect, and admiration for God. It is time that Christians genuinely start living in faith, not fear. Fear is destructive and leads to the idolatry of power, violence, money, and even the glorification of war.

2.     Live the life to which we have been called.

In the Fourth Chapter of Ephesians, we are called to lead a life worthy of the calling to which we have been called. It is a calling to humility, gentleness, and bearing one another in love. Amid that sacred calling is the explicit demand for Christians to be united in love and grace. This fulfills the New Commandment Christ gave in the Upper Room that we are to love as Christ loves. We may disagree on aspects of doctrine, tradition, worship style, and political issues, but that does not give us the freedom to abandon our Christian Calling of humility, gentleness and love simply to prove who is right and who is wrong.

3.     Care for those in need.

To live and love as Christ lived and loved is to risk vulnerability. Refugees, the poor, orphans, and those in need of God, God’s love, and God’s provisions must be the focus of our mission and ministry. The Apostle James makes this explicit in the second chapter of James where he tells Christians to remember, “Faith without works is dead.” It is not enough to believe in Jesus Christ or express our praise in joyous worship on Sunday morning or in fervent prayer. We must go into the world and do the Lord’s work. Jesus underscores this reality in vivid terms when preaching in Matthew 25:31-46. It was those who failed to minister to those in need who met harsh judgment by Christ.

            It is really simple. Christians are not behaving in a very Christian way. It is nothing new. Our religious history is filled with perversions of God’s love that would make an ISIS terrorist seem mild. Thankfully, God’s grace is greater than our religious stupidity and sinful narcissism. Yet, as Paul so eloquently points out in Romans 6, if we are sincere in our baptisms into Jesus Christ, we must also put to death those things which detract from an authentically Christian life lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul continues with vivid examples in Romans 8 that must serve as vital examples of how we are to live! This teaching is further emphasized in Galatians 5:16-26, Ephesians 4:17-5:2, and the Seven Letters to the Seven Churches in Revelation 2 and 3.

            Christians! It is time we stop making a hypocritical mockery out of the faith we love so much and start living the life Christ died to make possible. Otherwise, we may find it is you and I that Christ sends away because he did not know us 

9/11 It's Time To Forget!

It has been 14 years since the dreaded attacks known to history as 9/11. The sad thing is, as I sit and reflect on all that has happened the last 14 years I am struck by the disturbing reality that Osama bin Laden may actually be winning.

In the days immediately following the tragic attacks there was a genuine sense of American pride and unity—but it was very short-lived. We grieved as a nation and the world grieved with us at the inconceivable evil that had been launched against so many innocent people. Before long, President Bush stood at Ground Zero and proclaimed those responsible would soon be running in fear.

In a groundswell of vengeful fervor Congress quickly abdicated their constitutional responsibility to hold the authority of war declaration. Then, with shouts of patriotic zeal and flag waving prowess, we rallied behind our President to send volunteer soldiers to fight wars of revenge paid for on credit. We blindly trusted in the idea that that guns and bombs alone would somehow right the wrong that had been done to us.

Predictably, and perhaps appropriately, the emotional zeal that started these tragic wars quickly eroded. Our national life returned normal. Patriotism was redefined as simply sporting a “we support the troops” bumper sticker or flying the American flag. As a nation we were genuinely happy to honor the brave men and women sent to Iraq and Afghanistan and thank them for their service, but the vast majority of eligible young Americans would never see combat, never know a draft, and never truly sacrifice for the war effort. Contents to accept the lies that a war could be fought on credit, America cruised ignorantly along rejoicing that in some ways the wars had added catalyst to the American economy and people became richer. Tragically, those who had been heavily invested in war industries became exceptionally rich off the carnage and devastation of our revenge.

Yet, as we were getting a stronger economy and patting ourselves on the back for supporting the troops that were fighting for us, brewing beneath the surface of our American culture was an increasingly heightened sense of fear and anger. Like a festering wound, this hatred and fear was slowly growing in its infectious waste and preparing to release its toxic venom into the nation as a whole. Traditional political divisions between left and right became significantly wider. A politics of triumphalism usurped the capacity or willingness for leaders to work in bipartisan partnerships for the good of the nation. Those who increasingly opposed the war were loudly shout down by those who felt it was our national obligation to destroy our enemy. Fueled by populist media and grounded in fear that “those people” would ruin “our way of life,” the hatred slowly festered as the economy grew by leaps and bounds.

Ultimately, our national economy collapsed and the hate-filled political frenzy that followed saw the election of President Obama and the bitter retaliation of all who opposed that election. On a level of epic and historical proportions the political discourse became increasingly more divisive and polarized. “Patriotism” became fundamentally married to political affiliation and the only “true” Americans were then decided according to political preference rather than our shared national heritage.

Today we live in America that is more divided than at any time since the American Civil War. Yet rather than divided strictly along geographical lines of North and South, we have bifurcated whole communities into absolutist combatants for control of our nation. Racism continues to destroy lives on epic levels. Hatred is destroying the lives of police officers murdered simply for wearing their uniform. Schools, movie theaters, and urban highways have become random grounds of senseless violence and hatred. Economic inequality deepens as the nation’s most wealthy increasingly divide from the most impoverished and the vast middle becomes stretched thinner and thinner.

Among the sorted goals of Osama bin Laden was to divide America in his evil hopes that such division would bring about our collapse as a nation. It would be naïve to think that the 9/11 attacks alone created the catastrophe in which we live today. But it is also historically relevant to note that this 14^th anniversary marks the definitive beginning of a long, fear-driven, and hate-fueled slide into our own national disgrace.

Rather than simply “never forget,” as the saying goes, perhaps it is time that we do forget a few things so that we can truly reclaim what Osama bin Laden took away from us.

Let us forget the rage. Our anger and rage over something tha t happened 14 years ago does nothing to either resolve the issues at hand or bring healing to the land. All it does is serve to fuel further hatred, fear, and animosity.

Let us forget the revenge. Our violent revenge has ravaged 2 countries and left them more unstable than they were 14 years ago. Our revenge has put us at odds with many nations that would be our friends. Our revenge has cost countless billions of dollars and, much more seriously, hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. Our revenge only played in to the evil that was unleashed upon us 14 years ago.

Let us forget the stereotypes. It is a sad commentary to realize that the majority of Muslims killed in our wars of revenge were not enemies of the United States but were actually those who also, bin Laden himself considered to be less than pure Islamic. Yet, stereotyping entire races, ethnicities, and religious preferences as being evil, we have actually emboldened those who would find reason to hate Americans.

Let us forget the hate. It was hatred that brought upon the 9/11 disaster. And that hatred so the seeds of a national hatred that not only launched two unnecessary wars, but is also a hatred that has worked its way inwardly and is destroying the very fabric of our nation. Once such hatred was unleashed without impunity, it was only natural that like a cancer it would begin to destroy us.

The 14^th anniversary of this epic moment in American history gives us the perfect time to remember, and perhaps most importantly, to forget. In forgetting let us hold fast to what God calls us to remember—we are to love one another as Christ first loved us. In forgetting the rage, revenge, stereotypes, and hatred, we will begin to not only embrace God’s love a new but will turn the dangerous slide of Osama bin Laden’s victory into a greater victory for all that is good, holy, and decent.

14 years ago today the power of hate changed the world. As we appropriately remember this tragic anniversary it is vitally important that we remember hatred is not the means by which we may overcome the devastating power of hatred. If God's love is not allowed to prevail then hatred will win the day.

What is your choice?