Monthly Archives: February 2021

Weighed in the balances

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It can be a frightening thing to be weighed in the balances. We are faced with a sudden accounting of our lives and decision, at times in our lives. That’s what is happening to the Christian leadership of Texas right now.

The fearsome polar vortex that engulfed Texas a few days ago pushed the state’s power grid here far beyond what it was able to bear. Temperatures plunged to almost unprecedented lows across the state and snow remained on the ground in central Texas longer than it ever has before. Eight million people in Texas lost their electricity, many of them for days. Electricity was off across Austin for around 2 days. Water was off for there around 4 days.

The responsibility for this is all the full domain of Christian Texas leadership. So although it is primarily a political matter, it also pertains to the character and nature of our Texas leadership as they have always maintained their Christian identity and stature. And there’s the dilemma. In the political realm, you basically never admit your mistakes. You come back hard and throw the guilt on your political enemies. That’s always the way of the world.

But if you are a Christian, Christ’s call to admit when you’re wrong, to apologize and make restitution cannot be ignored since it’s one of the most fundamental tenets of Christianity.

So the Christian leadership of the government of Texas is really under the microscope and being brought before the court of the people, if not the court of God. Sadly, one of the greatest characterizations of the people of Texas is (supposedly at least) their pride. Pride is extolled as a virtue here and an absolute. But any Christian who has studied their Bible knows that there is not a single verse in the Bible, cover to cover, that exalts pride in any way.

From all we can see, the state government of Texas was utterly unprepared for the crisis that hit it last week and that is still going on in many ways. But there is so much misinformation flooding cyberspace at this time to promote right or left wing agendas that it becomes all the more difficult to ascertain any element of objective truth and facts in these times.

And millions of people locally are still coming out of the experience and seeing what they have to do to repair their broken water pipes and find a way to pay for their skyrocketing electric bills. All of which comes back to the leadership of the state of Texas at this time and their policies concerning utilities that have been implemented here over the last 10 or 20 years.

This isn’t fake news. This is not a partisan take on what happened. I’m not a politician or a journalist, representing either right wing or left wing views. But I am interested, as a Christian and a citizen of Texas, as to how our leadership, all devout Christians, respond at this time. From all I know, the Christian thing to do is to admit their mistakes, to apologize to the State for the impact their policies have had on this disaster, and to try to make restitution.

But it may not at all be that easy. The challenge will be the massive ideological struggle that will go on in the hearts and minds of our Texas Christian leadership. Because the political ideology that they have followed is what has set up the infrastructure here in such a way that profit has been the primary driving impetus, rather than to serve the people of Texas. And to go against that principle of profit will be almost impossible, regardless of what their Christian convictions and soul may be telling them.

It’s a crisis time in Texas in more ways than one. They even have a modern, somewhat mocking phrase for times like this. They actually call it a “come to Jesus moment”. Not that they really do that at all. But the idea is that it’s a real moment of accountability, of exposure where reality is being exposed and you, the major leaders of a state, nation or multinational business, are exposed and have to give a clear and visible accounting of yourself. Perhaps a poignant point Jesus made was when He summed up things in the simple words, “You cannot serve God and Mammon.” (Matthew 6:24)

It all very much bears watching. Expect a lot of smoke and mirrors. Expect there be a change of the subject, red herrings being thrown in every direction and a mighty shifting of the blame onto all the usual suspects that the right/left paradigm always throws up at us. Sadly, so many in American have bought into this ideological conflict that we’ve evidently come to where truth, raw and real truth in real time, doesn’t matter that much anymore to so many.

But people died here in Texas last week. Most of my friends went without electricity and water for days. So many major grocery stores for the second time in less than a year were denuded of food and necessities and panic buying went on again. As I wrote in another article (“Judgment must begin at the house of God”), in a state as Christian as this one, as led by Christians as this one is, it’s truly a time of sifting and accountability for the Godly leadership of Texas.

May the Lord help them to come down on His side, even if that means that pride is humbled and political struggle is ignored in order to measure up to greater truths and allegiances that we all have in the sight of the dear Lord God.

Judgment begins at the house of God

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The Bible says, “Judgment must begin at the house of God”. (I Peter 4:17) What does that mean? God holds the standard the highest for those who proclaim that they are His. It’s like how Jesus castigated the Pharisees rather than the drunks. In fact He told the self-righteous religious leaders of His day, “The tax collectors and harlots enter into the kingdom of God before you.” (Matthew 21:31) The same principle that Jesus espoused 2000 years ago is still valid today.

The recent pandemic that’s swept America, as well as the world, had a major, transformative effect on the elections of 2020 in the USA. The national government here was seen by many to be aloof and distracted by other things as the Corona virus hit America as hard as any disease has in the last 100 years.

Was this an example of judgment beginning at the house of God? Well, it sure had an effect on the elections last November. And America voted for a new administration and government which it was hoped would take more action and really get to grips with this vast, deadly emergency that has virtually overwhelmed the country.

And now this major historic cold and snow that has just hit here in Texas has had a similar effect. Both the cold in Texas and the Corona virus nationally have been ”natural disasters”, as we call them. Insurance companies actually call them, “acts of God”. But judgment must begin at the house of God. The Lord has ways to intervene in the affairs of humanity, even in our times. And thank God for that.

The Lord has always had ways to bring judgment first upon His own people, rather than on the so-called worldly or the unsaved. That’s why, in God’s eyes, His own saved Christians are so much more accountable than are the unsaved worldly who don’t know His Word or ways.

I often feel that it is a pitiful, fearful time for America. Will they be able to muddle through for a few more years, as they have for so long? Maybe; they’ve gone on a long time, coasting on the momentum of the righteousness of former generations. But, like Israel of old, there comes  time when God requires an accounting. It says in the Bible, “In those days the Lord began to cut Israel short”. (II Kings 10:32) I fear this is now happening to America as well.

The Lord has consistently held a higher standard for His own people than He does for the ignorant and unsaved of this world. But you seldom hear this message from the pulpit here or much less from the opportunistic politicos of our times.

A former US President from Texas once talked about “compassionate conservatism”. I wish I could say I have seen more of that here. In Texas there is a predominance of conservatives; but each of us will have to answer to God if we have truly been compassionate. I could go off on a tangent here, trying to apportion blame and take sides. But instead, maybe I’ll just try to keep seeing what the Lord is doing. I will add that I have certainly known personally some very humble and compassionate conservative Christians here in Texas.

The Lord brings crisis into our lives. He can, in His love and nurturing of us, even expose our sins, both to individuals and to nations. And almost no one really ever likes that, individually or nationally. Still, the Lord does it to purge and purify and to try to bring us out of “the sins that so easily beset us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

JobAnd how we react to that, individually or nationally, will really tell the tale of how our life goes. Almost everyone is very prone to “justifying themselves” (Luke 10:29). I wrote a blog article about justifying yourself which can be found here.

But God’s hope must be that, individually and nationally, we won’t justify ourselves and thwart the working of God in our lives. Instead, we will see the hand of God working when events that He sends expose our unpreparedness, our aloofness, our pride and arrogance. Then the hope must be that we will see it, acknowledge it, repent of it and be the better for the judgment the Lord sometimes brings. So often, it really comes down to that.

How’s this all going to end? Will the leadership of Texas confess their mistakes, ask for forgiveness and make the changes that are so desperately needed? We can hope so. Virtually every major leader in Texas is strongly a Christian conservative. May the Lord have mercy upon us all. May we all, individually and nationally, see the chastening, purifying hand of God in our lives.

“Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them which are exercised thereby.”  (Hebrews 12:11)

Insufficient in prayer

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I was thinking tonight about how God has been really good to me. So much so that I can’t really express it or find the words. Sometimes you can’t equal with your words of thankfulness the measure of the abundant grace that the Lord has bestowed upon you. Words fail you. But the funny thing is for me, in earlier years, before I came to the Lord and salvation, I went through a time of horror and depravity. And back then words failed me to describe my experiences as they do again now, but at the opposite end of the scale

When I was university I was swept up in a near death experience that took place in the realm of darkness, the spiritual world but without Christ and God. Afterwards it was close to impossible to find words to describe that experience and those things. At the time I didn’t really have any idea what was happening to me or why.

I just knew something was exceedingly wrong and that it was my fault. I knew that word back then, “fault”, but I didn’t really know or accept the word “sin”. Then gradually, as I came through and out of it all, I found the vocabulary in the Bible that described the experiences and grapplings I’d had in the realm of darkness.

By the love of God I had been “delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of His dear Son” (Colossians 1:13). Still, I could hardly talk about what I’d gone through. Now, decades later, I again have faced an inadequacy to put into words what is in my heart, but on the opposite side of the spectrum. He has blessed me, “above all I could ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20) so that my feeble attempts to thank Him and to appreciate His abundant blessings seem utterly inadequate to do the subject justice.

So I just have to trust the Lord. The Lord knows what He has done. The Lord knows how He has worked in my life. Hopefully He is pleased that I at least realize and know it somewhat and understand it to some degree. How can we be equal to the magnitude of God? We can’t. It reminds me of what I wrote a few years ago about “Thimbles”. I was struck with my inadequacy to respond to the vastness of God, like having a thimble on the beach to measure the ocean before me.

But I try to praise and thank the Lord for what He has done in my life. So many things have happened that I just know are the Lord, His plan and pre-vision and pro-vision. The Lord can make something out of nothing and actually that’s the way He usually works. He has to make you utterly nothing and so that you know it. And then He can begin to put you back together “a better vessel” (Jeremiah 18:1-4).

You may find yourself speechless, trying to find words to thank the Lord with when it all comes so short of describing the magnity of what He’s done in your life. Maybe that’s not where you are at right now. Maybe you are really going through trails and testings and “contradictions of sinners against yourself” (Hebrews 12:3), like what happened to Jesus. But as each of us keep holding on, the Lord can bring us into a fair haven. (Psalm 107:30)  A verse that often speaks to me is how He can “restore the years that the cankerworm has eaten.” (Joel 2:25) Seemingly years of wasted and fruitless existence when you longed to have a purpose and a meaningful life. But He can restore.

We don’t have to be eloquent when it comes to our prayers. Just honest, sincere and real. Our words are us and we are just little people trying to speak to the King of kings and Lord of lords. So we should just speak from our heart, even if it all seems to be so insufficient to express how we feel or how God has dealt with us. “Pour out your heart before Him”, as King David said. (Psalm 62:8)

“We are not sufficient for these things,” (II Corinthians 2:16). Paul knew it was all far beyond him what the Lord was doing in his life and in the lives of others. But he just kept the faith and kept following, even if it got to where it was beyond what he could ask or understand or comprehend.