Peace where there is no peace...

"Come," they say, "let us destroy them as a nation,

so that Israel's name is remembered no more."

With one mind they plot together;

they form an alliance against you. Psalm 83:4-5

Tomorrow, representatives of seventy nations will gather in Paris ostensibly to suss out the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This conference falls about two weeks after the passage of UN resolution 2334 condemning Israel (again) and two days before another meeting at the UN, at which it is expected another resolution against Israel will be passed. There is evidence that there have been secret negotiations between the Palestinians and diplomats of Western nations. The scuttlebutt is that this is a coordinated plan to force Israel to accept a two state solution with conditions and borders which not only disfavor Israel, but will endanger its existence.

It is interesting that seventy have been invited, as Jewish tradition holds that seventy nations represent all the nations of the earth. Could this be the beginning of 'all the nations of the earth' setting themselves against Israel mentioned in Zechariah 12? Add the blood moon tetrad pointing to times of change for Israel and I find myself observing these impending events both with dread and anticipation. Are we at the tipping point, or will the more favorable policies promised by the incoming administration bring this situation back into a tense status quo? It feels like an ocean wave lifting toward a flood wall—a wall behind which sits all of history. Will the wave build and overwhelm us or will it subside, rolling back with a sigh and disappear? I am praying for God's mercy and forbearance but also for His will to be done, for there is a time certain at which God will press play and the final chapters of human history will begin. Is this that? We just don't know. 

And why should we care? Why should Gentile Christians care about a small people in a small country on the other side of the world? Isn't God done with the Jews? Didn't they have their chance and blow it? Didn't their rejection of Jesus disqualify them forever? May it never be! Scripture is full of statements in which God promises never to abandon the Jewish people. Second, a God who binds Himself to a people and then abandons them in frustration when they prove problematic is a problem for us. If God does not have to keep His promises to the Jewish people, what makes us think He will keep His promises to us? And we are fooling ourselves if we think Gentiles are somehow better or more deserving than Jews. Or that the New Testament somehow is a do-over of the Old. No, the welfare of the Jewish people should matter very much to those of us who call on the name of Jesus. God's faithfulness, veracity and ability—His very reputation—are at stake.

The question of Israel and the future of the Jewish people in God's plan is contentious. Whole streams of theology have been created in order to explain it or explain it away. But it remains the quintessential, defining issue, because it asks the ultimate question, Is God really in charge? Does He have the right to do whatever He wants? The question of this very small people group remains a stubborn pebble in the world's shoe precisely because it so accurately pinpoints our heart problem--we don't want God telling us what to do. The very idea that He would choose a people group simply because He chose them, seems unfair. We don't like it, secretly believing that if anyone was going to be chosen, it should have been us.* It chafes that He feels no particular need to explain it to us or justify His decision. So Israel is a litmus test, illustrating whether we are willing to trust what God is doing. Our opinion, our words and our actions toward Israel expose our hearts. Are we willing to submit to God even when His choices don't make sense to us, even if we feel we know better?

Israel is the apple of God's eye...not because they are better or smarter or more moral. He loves them because he loves them (just like us). He has chosen them and promises to keep them. He has loved them, disciplined them, judged them and, with regard to Jesus, temporarily blinded them. Yet even during this long, spiritual time-out, He is tirelessly working to bring His wayward people back to Himself. He is preparing them for that day when they recognize Jesus as their Messiah, and repent with tears as they embrace Him. God's actions for and against Israel have never been an invitation to destroy them, though many have tried. God's discipline is always redemptive and His ultimate plan is to save them, which is why satan has always been so intent on annihilation. He has asked His church to stand with them, though we haven't always proved faithful to that call. He is asking now that we identify with them, stand with them and help them. Not because they deserve it, not because we will gain anything by it, but because God asks us to. It has never been widely popular to be friends with Israel. Eventually, it will be dangerous. This issue, at bottom, is whether or not we will submit to and obey God. Will we choose what God chooses?

The world can swell with self-important posturing. It can hold all the conferences and pass all the resolutions it wants. Genuine, lasting peace will never come to the Middle East until the Prince of Peace Himself returns. At that time, Jew and Arab will be truly and forever reconciled. The world will know peace. God has placed this people at the center of world conflict because the question of the Jewish people is not about nations or political agendas. It is about so much more than the land and who it belongs to. It is about the all too human refusal to submit to God's rule. We love the teachings of Jesus until they run counter to our personal inclinations, our pet sins. It is the problem human beings run into whenever they encounter God's reign. Then we have a decision to make—will we massage His message until we are comfortable, or bring our thinking in line with His? 

Israel the secular nation may fall, but Israel the people are ours to love because God loves them. So the wave approaches and as we watch and pray and trust in God's goodness, the question remains, "Does God have the right to do as He chooses and to tell us what to do?" Will we love and protect and serve the Jewish people simply because God asks us to?

Maranatha!

*And of course we are chosen. We are grafted into the olive tree of Israel. All the promises and blessings are ours, not because Israel forfeited them but because we are now included with them through accepting their Messiah, Jesus. And of course Jewish people must come through that same gate...there is no separate, different salvation for Jews than for Gentiles.

Post Script

It has been pointed out to me that my last post might lead people to think that I am claiming that "God's side" won in the presidential election. I apologize for that, because it couldn't be further from what I intended to say. So to clarify...Trump's win does not mean God favors Republicans over Democrats, or that He favors white over black or brown. He doesn't love heterosexuals more than homosexuals. God's agenda has nothing to do with civil rights. A Republican administration can neither save nor keep us. 

My gladness at the election results has nothing to do with liking Donald Trump or believing that he is a godly man. Nor does it mean that he will be a good President (although he could surprise us all). I was simply expressing my relief at avoiding another four to eight years of liberal policies which had been growing more and more oppressive to Christians. I think Mr. Trump's win has less to do with political parties, or national and world affairs and more to do with preparing the church for whatever comes next.

God sets up and pulls down governments to further His plan for the people of the Earth—all people.  

So I hope that helps clear away any unintended confusion.  

What now?

The Lord has been gracious to us. He heard our cry for help and sent relief to His people. He has stopped government overreach and given us a season of rest. I am grateful, so very grateful. God came down into our mess and intervened. I have been thanking Him all week, while fighting to keep my attitude right and my words kind. 

God has delivered us, but a greater deliverance is yet ahead. We have been given a moment, a pause, a cease-fire from the battle we face every day. The great battle to remain the beloved of God in a world grown dark and more anti-Christ moment by moment. So this is not ordinary time, it is extra-ordinary, a supernatural moment in which God has drawn near and is—like Aslan—on the move. When the long winter begins to break in Narnia, the animals know that is it because Aslan is on the move. The signs were unmistakable. I urge you, my friends, to consider that this political miracle is not so we might be free to return to our lives and live them as before. It is not so America can have high standing in the world. It is not so our rights are confirmed. It is not so we can blithely wander in our own way, paneling our own houses, gathering things to ourselves and building our own kingdoms. I believe that we are at a fork in the road moment of decision, a Joshua 'as for me and my house' season. 

God is always about the big picture...even in the smallest of details in the most individual of lives. He is working toward the conclusion He ordained from the beginning. A time so long ago that it nearly seems a fairy tale to us in the twenty-first century. God made Man and placed him in a garden that He might be with him. The earth is a garden made for us, but in a greater sense it was made for Him. It was made as a place in which we might discover our great purpose. It was made that we might know and love Him. A place in which we might learn what it means to belong to God and become prepared to live with Him forever. We've been given space to consider what that means to us and how we go forward from here. 

God works in our lives in seasons that come and go. Therefore this season of rest, however long it might be, is a blessing we must not waste. The election is a megaphone, reminding us that there is a God in heaven and He does whatever He wants, urging us to draw near and hear His voice, warning us to disentangle ourselves—not from the world, but from the love of it, inviting us to seek Him particularly, asking us to set our faces toward Him as a Bride coming down the aisle. Though the church be full of people, she has eyes only for her beloved. 

My heart longs that He might bless us once again with revival. Not so we can have great meetings and feel good about ourselves, but that He might fill us up with Him. That we might be equipped for the greater deliverance still before us, when we are stripped of our own way and baptized into His. A deliverance from ourselves that we might behold the fiery One, enthroned among the cherubim. That gazing at His inexpressible beauty, we might be changed. I want that for me. I want that for my friends. I want that for a world tearing itself apart chasing fulfillment it can never find, because it exists only in the place of surrender to the One who made it. I long for the transformation of the church into doorkeepers who cry out, "Here! Here is the way! What you most long for—the beauty and the satisfaction and the rest for your soul—it is in here! HE is in here!" Beholding Him and letting Him fill us will equip us to be His doorkeepers, His voice, His body on the earth doing the works of Jesus. His dealings in our lives will activate in us Jesus' calling to 'bring many sons to glory' (Hebrews 2:10). His love will empower us to overcome the world. He is worthy and we are privileged. Maranatha!

"May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering." 

John Leonard Dober and David Nitschman,the first Moravian missionaries in 1732 

Just say "Yes!"

The annual Torah reading schedule has just reset. It is appropriate that the recent portion in Genesis took me back to "in the beginning" in the Garden once again. That beautiful place God created especially for us so we could commune with Him. It's good to remember that His intention in creating the earth was not that we would make something great of it, but that we should have a place to be with Him, a place in which to know and love Him. That meditation is a comforting antidote to the maelstrom of election confusion and anger swirling around us.

We are being told that this is a season to make our stand...or retreat into prayer...or protest for our rights...or sit down and be silent. It's our Christian duty to vote. It's not Christian to vote this time. It's a mess, but a mess God is permitting—perhaps to drive us to Him that we would draw near and listen. Reading about our beginnings is reminding me that now, more than ever, we need to be with God, to remember who we are, to draw near in friendship, to listen for His voice, to let Him fill us up. There are lots of folks shouting about what is happening in our world (and what we should do about it), but the one voice we most need to hear does not shout. In John 10, Jesus our good shepherd says His sheep hear and know His voice. It whispers behind us, "This is the way, walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21). God has no dog in this fight. His loving concern is about people, not governments, systems or parties. Only He is sufficiently outside, beyond and above the clamor of the world to be objective, so we desperately need to hear from Him. His trustworthy voice can safely interpret and direct us. Make no mistake, there are things to be done, decisions to make—important decisions. But we must sit at the feet of Jesus like Mary before we rise and serve like Martha.

How terrified the Israelites in Goshen must have been when God was humbling the Egyptians and their gods. Death and terror surrounded them for days on end, though it did not come near them. When God said to put lamb's blood over their door posts, it must have seemed pointless. How in the world could that stop pestilence? But they trusted and obeyed, though they did not understand. In this hour He wants me to be so tuned to His voice that I will hear and obey, even when it doesn't make sense to me...especially when it doesn't make sense to me. That is faith, believing in His love, wisdom and ability, relying on His character, and His track record. If I listen for His voice, He will show me the way I should go. My part is to listen and obey. 

So I've been convicted to ask for mercy and help. I can't even desire more of Jesus without Jesus' intervention. The world is so loud and shiny and distracting, so I am asking for greater ability to focus. I am meditating on Scripture—not to get more information or prove a point—but to renew my mind and hone my listening ears. I am asking for a deeper desire for His will and His ways. More than anything else I’m asking for Jesus Himself--His presence is what I most need. That lovesick yearning that keeps me adoring at His feet produces the oil I'll need in my lamp going forward (Matthew 25). I can ride above the muck and the mire of current events, no matter who wins on Tuesday, when He holds my gaze. 

I am grateful that God still seeks those who will walk with Him in the cool of the Garden. He  peeks through the lattice of our hearts and urges us to come away with Him. He is asking us to say ‘yes’ to more of His presence, so His power and ability can lift us above our circumstances, above the crumbling world, above the impending election and its results, above...to where Jesus sits enthroned. Then we can fix our eyes confidently on Jesus, knowing that He has not left us forsaken, knowing that His love will keep and perfect His church—not in a weak-whimpering-barely crawling across the finish line kind of way—but blazing with light and sacrificial love. Oh that we would embrace His presence and be filled with more Jesus! Drink deeply of His love, His power, His peace, and His joy. Come away. Come away with Him. You won't be disappointed.

"O friends! Drink, yes, drink deeply, O beloved ones!" Song of Songs 5:1b

The %&@!$ election

This. Horrible. Election. Wherein I am offended daily at the nastiness, hypocrisy and bias clearly evident therein. Facebook is on fire with the stuff the mainstream media won't report, and I've been busily re-posting it—including some things that I suspect may not be quite strictly true but would take too much time to verify, and there are only so many hours in the day to read about the next outrage. I was Paul Revere, galloping pell mell down the information highway, shouting my warnings, until the Spirit whispered a warning of His own. Why are you so upset? Why does the media bias shock you? Why did you think politicians wouldn't stoop to dirty tricks? In what exactly, are you trusting? 

When I stop and think about these things, I know the answer immediately. I know better than to think that the American political system holds the key to my rights. I know that the government is not my provider. I know this world is not my home. I know these things, yet I've been upset, anxious, and offended at each new piece of evidence that the system is broken and corrupt. Did I really think something invented and run by sinners (just like me) would be any different? The world might rage, but the world has nothing else to rely on. What’s my excuse?

                  

So in my mad rush to spread the word that the system is imperfect and biased against conservatives in general and Christians in particular (shocking!), I've been pulled up short by the Spirit. I've always believed it my civic duty to vote and had been trying hard to figure out whether I could this time and then who the heck to vote for. Mostly I was resisting voting for Trump.* He's not presidential. He's not moral. He's not even very nice. How embarrassing would it be to admit to voting for him? And with that last thought, the Spirit connected a hard right to my jaw. I wasn't asking what God was doing in this election. I was trying to make sure that my vote demonstrated my intelligence and cool, as well as impeccable evangelical cred. God gently pointed out that every candidate looks basically the same to Him...broken sinners all. And the Bible has many examples of God using ungodly people as blunt instruments to hammer home a point. Sigh. Now I don't know why I was making such a fuss...God is well aware of the imperfections of both candidates, yet I'm pretty sure that one of them, warts and all, is going to be the next President anyway.

The reality is that Christians are in for trouble no matter who wins. Trouble has already come and will increase with a Clinton Presidency. But it would be a mistake to believe that a Trump victory will make America some sort of Christian paradise. I think one of the worst outcomes would be the church believing it’s dodged a bullet with a Trump win, heaving a sigh of relief and then returning to life as usual. We need God. We need revival. We need preparation for the end of the end times, which draws ever closer. How could life as usual do any of that?

We must become the church in deed as well as in word, loving our neighbors, aiding the poor, generally spending ourselves living out the gospel. I confess I find it easier to retreat into the Christian subculture, collecting stuff for myself and being glad to be left alone by a world that does not seem to want what I have. But that's not the assignment. And the world is increasingly unwilling to leave us alone. It is no longer enough to live by Christian principles and precepts. For the trouble yet ahead, we must have God's presence. We were meant to be vitally connected to our Father and King, through Jesus our Messiah. We were meant to interact with our nation as those who possess a precious resource they desperately need. They were supposed to look at us and beg to know why we were different. Instead we became pretty much just like them. So while I hate trouble and avoid it when possible, this trouble is actually good news. This is God gradually removing our ease and comfort, shaking us awake so we will seek Him as our greatest need.

The tide is moving ever more swiftly towards a post-Christian culture, in which no place has been reserved for us. But with God as our source and resource and recourse, what have we to fear? Our faith has always been counter-cultural—even revolutionary. Maybe if we stop trying to fit in, we can be free to be the believers we were always intended to be—strong in faith, humble in adversity, sacrificial in love and service, and full of joy that our God is knowable and has chosen intimate friendship with His people. Such a church would make the demons tremble.

Polls are inaccurate and both candidates are greatly disliked—even within their own parties. Despite over-sampled polls and media pronouncements, it is not at all clear which one will win on November 8. It is therefore encouraging to remember that God is not shocked by the shenanigans that are Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton. He knew we would face this choice in 2016. He knows with absolute certainty how honest Hillary is and how selfless Donald is. So I’m voting for the platform I most agree with and leaving the results to God. He knows what He's doing. My rights are God's responsibility. My reputation is His to care for. When Jesus faced the cross, the impossibly difficult became possible because His heart was held safe by God. He trusted completely in his Father's love and wisdom and power. And we can do the same. 

Still hate this election though.

*This is not an admonishment to vote for any particular candidate. I trust that every Christian is praying and will vote as they believe they should. I am simply recounting my journey. 

Thank you, Father!

Each year observant Jews read through the first five books of the Bible, or Torah. This is done by reading through a specified portion each week, along with selections from the prophets. Each week at synagogue a large scroll is removed from its special cabinet or ark, rolled to the selected text and portions read aloud to the congregation. The liturgical year ends at the conclusion of the Feast of Booths (Sukkot), then the reading schedule resets for the new year in a celebration called Rejoicing in the Torah (Simchat Torah). It is celebrated by singing, dancing, eating and bringing the scrolls from their ark and carefully re-rolling them to the beginning, to start the cycle of readings once again. 

To our Gentile minds this holiday might almost seem like an odd little afterthought tagged onto the end of  Sukkot, but it definitely has something to teach us. The Bible is not just a book among many books, not a collection of pithy sayings, not a compendium of religious instruction, not a dry and dusty history, not a handbook of do's and don'ts. The Bible is unique among all books because it is alive, powerful, almost vibrating with the fervent love God has for us. His Word contains the power to re-order our thoughts, renewing our minds. Its blessing to us cannot be overstated and it is good to be reminded to thank God for this gift. 

Our Bible contains the story of God's interactions with Man. It outlines His plan to redeem the Earth--from the Garden to the Millennium. It is full of examples to help us walk our way to God. It is the means for learning who God is, how He feels about us, how He thinks and acts, how we should respond and most importantly how we may connect ourselves to the source of life and power and peace. We can encounter God in many ways, but the first and best way must be what He says about Himself. Without this direct revelation, we would be left blindly feeling our way toward God and missing Him more often than not. 

The Bible can be studied and enjoyed as fine literature, but that sadly misses the point. Even reading and giving mental assent is not sufficient. The Bible is meant to be our road map to God. Its purpose is to draw us to Him, finding at last the satisfaction of our souls. It's meant to illuminate His beauty, tune our ears to His voice, demonstrate the difference between good and evil, and warn us of pitfalls. The Word is His love letter to us, drawing our hearts to fall deeply in love with our Creator, the King of the universe.

God has given us a great treasure! We must drink deeply until we are sated and changed...until we behold His face and are dumbstruck at His beauty. Rejoicing in the Torah is not meant to elevate a book, but to acknowledge the wonderful provision of our amazing Creator. I love that God created a people and gave them His word and set about inviting the world entire to be blessed and included in His plan for them. 

Thank you Father for giving us Your  Word--a way to learn about You, find You, know You and love You. That is definitely something to celebrate!

She flies through the air with the greatest of ease, the daring...old lady...on the flying trapeze?

(for all my fellow aerialists, especially Karen) 

I am routinely surprised at how quickly life has passed. Didn't I just finish high school? Wasn't it just yesterday that my children were babies? And who is that old lady I keep seeing in the mirror? In what seems like a blink, I went from a competent, full-functioning adult to—well, early-stage decomposition. At age 60, I find myself very high up in life’s circus without a net. And those who don’t think growing older is a high-risk, high-wire act simply haven’t grown old enough yet.

I used to be a fairly competent person. I was pretty good at organizing my life (and my family's). I managed a small law office and kept the house going and the kids fed. Not perfectly, mind you, but enough to keep our heads above the sea of dust bunnies and have clean underwear, mostly folded and in the dressers. I had good health and believed that that too, was somehow a sign of competent life management. But health and memory and stamina and ability are all fading as I grow older, and it's scaring the holy heck out of me. I now have issues: memory issues, joint issues, digestive issues, hair issues—everything seems to be slowing down, breaking down or sagging down. This is alarming, as I'm pretty sure I'll need my physical and mental abilities for some time yet.

I've been experiencing spiritual issues as well. I had assumed my youthful composure and contentment were the fruit of 'leaning on Jesus,' but now I'm not so sure. I'm beginning to suspect it's more that I was happy because things were going more or less the way I directed them. Don’t get me wrong, I did understand that middle age would be a new season…a time to accept I couldn’t do quite as much as I could when younger. The problem was that I understood what I thought that meant...which is not at all the same thing as actually understanding. I visualized myself gliding gracefully through those years—arm in arm with Jesus—my hair turning a distinguished silver; my gifts and talents coming to maturity as I finally gained victory over anxiety and besetting sins. Let's just say that reality has proved somewhat less romantic—more like an animal caught in a trap, chewing off its foot in an attempt to escape. I see now that it was easy to believe I trusted God when I had myself to fall back on. I discovered that I like fixing things myself. I like being in charge of me. I'm comfortable bringing my own resources to the table and making things happen...or stop them from happening.

Now I sometimes feel I've become my grandmother, complaining with querulous voice that things aren't as they ought to be. What I didn't know—couldn't know until I got this old—is that God seems to have designed life so that we are forced to let go of every competency, every gift, every strength, until at last all we have is the breath in our lungs and dependence on Him. I know that sounds terribly depressing, and I confess I became cranky and morose. I began to look at younger people with envious eyes...their lives were still before them. Mine seemed, most unfairly, to be largely behind me. I mean, just about the time I gained a decent amount of wisdom, I forgot where I put it. My complaint levels were at an all-time high, and God seemed far, far away. But He wasn't really. He was just waiting for Queen Lynda to stop acting like a stubborn toddler and get her ample, middle-aged bottom off the throne. 

God wants all of me, even (or mostly) the parts I've been inexpertly handling on my own. So He is intent on removing those props I've relied on, even if that makes me fall...so He can pick me up. He is, after all, in the redemption business. And since there is no retirement in the kingdom, I have to let go of the old (hah!) and reach out for the new. I needed to stop looking at my life and toting up all the things I was losing and begin looking to God and asking Him what I was gaining. A new season more centered on the Lord and less centered on my own plans. A new wisdom, not my own but His. A new relationship based on my humble recognition that it's always been more about Him than it has been about me.

I'm not there yet. I'm still cycling through periods of discouraged resistance to this aging business, but I'm fighting to cross the line into acceptance. The alternative is not one I care to embrace. I’ve encountered older people eaten up with bitterness and regret—and it's becoming clear just how easy it is to join that chorus. I want my older years to be full of peace, strong in faith and growing in intimate friendship with Jesus. Old age is not some sort of cosmic punishment, it's an accomplishment not everyone gets to achieve. So I am asking for the ability to receive with gladness that the aging process is simply part of the race I must run...the course marked out for me. It is part of His plan to pry my white-knuckled grip off my life, teaching me swing out with abandon on the trapeze of life. I can let go, knowing deep in my knower that He will catch me—He has never yet failed. 

Since the day you were born,
    I have carried you along.

I will still be the same
when you are old and gray,
    and I will take care of you.
I created you. I will carry you
    and always keep you safe.
Isaiah 43:3b-4 CEV