It's not just a joke

There's a joke that's told among Christian circles that goes something like this:

There was a man stranded on the roof of his house. The floodwaters were rising and he had no way of escape.

The man prayed to God, "Lord, if you rescue me from this flood, I will do every thing you want me to do till the day I die."

Right then, a neighbor came by in a canoe. "Joe," he said, "get in my canoe and I'll get us out of here."

"Oh no no!," Joe said. "God is going to rescue me."

The neighbor tried several times to convince Joe to get in the boat, but finally gave up and paddled away.

A while later a rescue boat spotted the man and drove up to his roof. "Come on and get in!," yelled the rescue team.

"Oh no no!," Joe said. "God is going to rescue me."

Like the neighbor, the rescue team tried to convince Joe to get in the boat, but ultimately gave up and moved on.

The water continued to rise and rescue efforts were winding down when, finally, a helicopter spotted Joe and flew over to his roof. "SIR, CLIMB UP THE LADDER!," yelled a man on the helicopter. But once again, Joe could not be convinced.

Later that night, the water rose over the roof of Joe's house and Joe drowned.

Joe woke up in heaven. "God," Joe asked, "Why didn't you rescue me?"

God answered him, "I tried three times to rescue you, but you wouldn't accept my help!"

I got to thinking about Joe (fictional character only, not based on real individuals) and his problem. The problem was not that Joe didn't have faith nor that God didn't answer his prayer. Joe died because he didn't recognize what came from God. He thought the men were just men and couldn't see God's hand stretched out to him.

Unfortunately, Joe is not alone. We live in a world where we often look at Christians and do not see God, just other men and women. If I don't know what God looks like or what He acts like, how will I recognize Him when I look at another human being or listen to passages from a lengthy book? I'm not saying this to discourage anyone. Whether you believe in God or don't believe in God, I am asking you for the same thing... patience.

Christians have many ways of telling other people about God. Some do it quietly in the simple, loving way they lead their lives. Others do it loudly by standing in public places in the midst of trouble, yelling into a microphone. Some Christians gently ask questions, others forcefully argue the rightness of their position. Which person represents God? Maybe all of them do. But just because the servant who performs the errand doesn't look like your image of the Master who orders the errand, it doesn't mean there isn't a Master. So, I ask patience with the Christian if you do not believe in God because, really, this is between God and you. You may not like His servant, but God is worth checking into. It's a life or death question.

And you, Christian, is there someone you have been witnessing to for a long time? Is there someone you care about deeply who does not believe? Do you experience frustration at their "blindness" to your words? Have patience.

A human being cannot see spiritual truth with physical eyes. Our purpose is not to make converts to the Christian faith, but to love God and love the people on this earth. God, Himself, saves souls. Haven't you noticed that the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control) are all personality traits and not listings of other human beings? If we develop these traits, He will entrust people to us. It is God who reveals Himself to men and women... He revealed Himself to you, didn't He? And we can have confidence that anyone who seeks the Lord will find Him when he searches for Him with all his heart. God said so Himself (Jeremiah 29:12-13).

The unquestionable truth about the human being is that none of us are perfect (no matter how much we refuse the accept this truth). And that we will all be a disappointment to someone and similarly will all be disappointed BY someone. But this should not stop us from searching for the truth or living the Truth, whichever side of the coin you are on. And, for the record, I've been on both. And I've been guilty of both; both of being offended by the messenger, and of offending the one I intended to love.

May God bless you all with wisdom and understanding.

Survivor: America

At least three different people have written about the passage of the Bible in which the people of Israel ask for a king, in referring to Obama's election. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, I will briefly summarize it for you. For a period of time, the Israelite people lived in the Promised Land without a head of state. God was their King, His Law was the law of the land, and any disputes were decided by Godly judges. But the Israelites rejected God Himself and His Way and asked for a human king that they could lift up in comparison to the other nations. God gave them what they asked for and warned them that they would lose many of the rights and freedoms He Himself had given them because of their choice. In this way, the descent of the Israelite nation into war, sorrow, and slavery began.

While we don't really know what an Obama presidency will mean for America, many of us suspect that, like the Israelites, Americans may have wished themselves into further loss of freedom. So on this day, I would like to offer hope to those of us who believe in a greater Good, an ultimate Truth, and a better Way.

First of all, let us remember that while Israel's first king became utterly corrupt and fell into murderous paranoia, God then gave Israel a kingly beacon of light in David. Israel's second king, the "man after God's own heart," set the standard for Holy Worship that inspires us even today with hope and a revelation of God's nature unrivalled in the rest of Scripture. It was through the line of the man David, and because of his kingship, that Jesus our Christ is also called our King. God predicted the Israelite kingship in Deuteronomy 17:14-20, and we can be confident that this particular human failing was part of His plan to usher in the salvation of humankind.

Let us remember, "God removes kings and establishes kings." (Daniel 2:21) "For there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." (Romans 13:1) So, we should not fear because this is God's will for this country at this time. But how can a man who seems to oppose God in so many ways be God's chosen man? After all, this verse seems to suggest that people the likes of Adolf Hitler were "established by God." To this, I reply that the light shines brightest in the darkest of nights. History proves that human nature is to turn away from God to follow the path that is "right" in our own eyes. We now have heroes of the faith because they confronted horrifying evil. If God had not allowed darkness to come, would we have seen them at all?

My brothers and sisters, it is our turn. Does anyone doubt that we have experienced dark days? If this election teaches us one thing only, let it be that America is in great need of the Light. Americans are crying out for a Savior, and many believe that they have elected one. But we cannot legislate Faith or Truth. The way to combat the welfare state is to prove that freedom is better. We cannot prove this by argument; if past evidence were enough, Socialist principles would have died before now. We must prove this by changing lives. We must preach, teach, and live freedom. That is, we must preach, teach, and live Christ.

Barack Obama, while campaigning, appealed to Jesus' admonition to take care of the "least" of men; those sick and in prison. Jesus was not speaking to governmental leaders, but to His disciples (Matthew 24:3-25:46). Even those furthest from God recognize the beauty of Jesus' words. But only His Disciples, those who love God and keep His Commands, can bring Truth into the most wretched of lives. Only the love of God can transform the individual lives of Americans from hopeless desperation and dependency to Glorious Freedom and Hope.

In Matthew 28:18, Jesus instructs His Disciples to "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” The word in Greek that is translated "make disciples of" literally means "to instruct" or "to disciple." Jesus, here, is telling His Disciples to go and teach other people. His Disciples? My brothers and sisters, that's you and me. Our time has come and is now. Let us be like the heroes of the past, who were not afraid to give their lives in the service of others. We may not be called to die for our faith, as our brothers and sisters do in other countries, but we are called to give our lives as a "living sacrifice." To this purpose, I commit my life to be a "living sacrifice" to my countrymen. And I ask you, my fellow Christians, to join me in service to Americans; that the heroes of tomorrow may look back upon us, giving glory and honor to God, while telling their children of our exploits. May God bless America!

A note to my fellow native Louisianians: Ladies and Gentlemen, we who have lived through the runoff between notorious crook Edwin Edwards and Klan Grand Wizard David Duke and who breathed a sigh of relief when we got the crook, ought to be able to handle a Chicago politician with questionable connections. Obama would fit right into New Orleans politics. In fact, anyone who has halfway studied Louisiana history ought to be able to list off quite a few names of questionable characters in recent history, not to mention 20th Century Louisiana history. All humor aside, we should not lose sleep over what we fear. The light of God cannot be extinguished. "That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it." (John 1:5 )

Amen and Amen

Obama's Citizenship

... apparently makes no difference at all.


May God bless America!