A Christ-follower with a limp: March 2018

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Who is praying for the children?

“Prayer is the way we take our hands off

and place our children in the hands of God.” Mark Batterson

Aaron’s wedding in Taiwan was the answer to generations of prayer. Since each of our three children were born, Jane and I have prayed for two critical concerns; First, that they’d know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Second, that if it was God’s will for them to marry, that each one would marry someone who loved Jesus. To me, those are the most important decisions anyone will ever make. Whether my children are rich, successful, college graduates, healthy or even happy are all minor matters. It’s also not enough to marry a Christian but it needs to be a committed Christian. Sadly, Christian often means very little. All of us have met someone who is a “Christian,” but acts like anything but a Christian.

Yet, we are merely another step in a much larger circle. Jane’s grandmother, Bertha, though married to an unbeliever and who had a very difficult life prayed for Jane when she was a little girl. Jane’s parents, Ed and Mary Quick prayed for Jane, for me and for each of our children along with their other children and grandchildren. My grandmother, Cora Carson, when I knew her, could hardly walk. As a child, I remember her shuffling from room to room in her little house. Years earlier she’d broken her back. My grandparents were some of the poorest people I’ve ever known. I still remember what a huge deal it was when they finally got a phone...in the other room and it was a party line. But “Ma Ma” could pray and she faithfully prayed for me.

Then, my own Mom (Dorothy Carson) lived with a wealthy, yet abusive husband. When my Mom was killed in a tragic car accident when I was 10, I immediately lost virtually every memory of her including the sound of her voice. But there’s one memory that’s indelibly tattooed on my soul. Every morning when I got up, I’d find my Mom drinking coffee out of her lime green cup and her open Bible. There is no question in my mind that I am where I am today in answer to her prayers.

Our hearts break at the violence in our schools. But it’s not just the tragic shootings, many children go to school terrified. No one seems to talk about those who are frightened to walk home or to be in their own home, often government housing where they must literally fortify themselves.

No one seems to ever ask: Who is praying for the children? While we often feel helpless, there’s something we can all do — we can pray! It shows the ignorance of our secularized world of the omnipotency of God and prayer, that when prayer is mentioned to face current cultural crises, it’s often scoffed at. It’s become trendy to do “prayer shaming.” While there is a time for action, all actions are impotent apart from God’s hand. For the Christian, prayer must be our first response and action.

One fact sticks out to me. It’s a sad yet common thread even in the Church — those who are known as being faithful “pray-ers” today are typically women. That’s not the picture that we find in Scripture. Great men of the Bible were often great men of prayer; Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Daniel, Paul…to name a few. The Lord Jesus was so habitual in prayer that His disciples noticed and asked Him to teach them to pray. Men, the greatest thing we can do for our families generally and our children and grandchildren specifically is to pray for them. My mentor, Dad Cummins, was a man of prayer. Even today I can hear his deep voice interceding for me and so many others. As a Dad, I feel both humbled and privileged when my now adult children ask me to pray for them.

What should we pray? A child’s greatest need is obvious. It’s salvation. Why would we pray for physical safety or health without spiritual safety? We’re talking about this vaporous life compared to eternity. Do you love your children? Grandchildren? The place to start is to pray for their regeneration. Too often we’re presumptuous about the spiritual condition of our children. If there’s no evidence of new life with an adult child, there should be no confidence based on a childhood prayer and decision. James 2 is clear that if there’s new life, there’s an accompanying lifestyle.

Then, pray for that which ultimately matters. Our most common prayer is for the safety of our children. Yet, in the eternal scheme of things, it’s such a minimal need. In our own lives, it was “danger” that often drove us to the Lord. It’s danger and difficult times that often bring about spiritual growth. King David would never have been a “man after God’s own heart,” if he’d not faced great danger and trials. So, pray for their spiritual growth. Pray for them to resist temptation. Pray that they have a life of Christlikeness.

As a church, we’re a family. Do you pray for the children of our church? Are their parents your friends? Then, pray for them specifically by name. Pray for their parents. Pray for spiritual blind spots you may see. Frequently, we are quick to share unsolicited advice. Let’s start by praying for them. It’s been so fulfilling many times over the years to pray for a spiritual blind spot in a friend’s life. Then, struggling, wondering if I should say something but then wonderfully see God’s divine hand resolve it. Yet, all I did was pray!

Finally, what about our extended families? Cousins, nieces and nephews? And don’t forget the neighborhood children. Often, we may see needs their parents fail to see. Do we shake our heads or worse, gossip? I wonder what would happen in our world if at least the Christians were praying for the children? Then, I must wonder what would happen if I were praying? Who’s praying for the children? Will it be YOU?

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

The "Wonder" of loving the unloveable

“Compassion is the deep feeling of sharing in the suffering of another and the desire to relieve that suffering.” Jerry Bridges

Unusually tall and bearing a facial scar, a twelve-year-old girl from Denver was called “Gorilla Scarface” by classmates until she finally snapped and took her own life in the spring of 2014. A week before killing herself, she’d left the following message on Instagram: I’m just not Okay.

Tragically, it’s not an unusual story. If you Google stories about bullying, have a box of Kleenexes nearby because it will break your heart.

Recently, Jane and I watched the movie, Wonder. If you haven’t seen it, I’d encourage you to. It’s a powerful story that left us feeling highly moved. Wonder tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of Auggie (short for August) Pullman, a boy with horrible facial differences who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time. Previously, his mother homeschooled him, to protect him from the taunts and bullying that he’d face because of his abnormal appearance in a school setting. But now his parents want him to attend fifth grade with other kids, so he begins attending Beecher Prep School. Auggie even has the kind of sense of humor that can win kids over—well, most of them anyway. While the Pullman family isn't particularly spiritual, his Mom (Isabel), does pray aloud, “Dear God, please make them be nice to him,” when dropping Auggie off at school one day.

Both Dad and Mom are united in their love and commitment to their children. The principal at Auggie’s school is very concerned that Auggie be treated well and not bullied. His teachers care. One even has a daily character lesson. At first, all the children dodge Auggie but eventually, they’re won over and not only become Auggie’s friends but defend him against attacks from others. The movie is a transparent account of the burdens and feelings of others, even those without special needs.

When we finished watching it, I Googled the movie and was disappointed to discover what I’d already suspected – it’s just a good story, a work of fiction. We know from hard experiences that the world rarely works like that. All of us remember the cruelty of school. It’s likely that you personally felt the sharp blades of cruelty pierce your own soul as classmates or a teacher said things to you that were thoughtless or cruel.

Yet, I think Wonder is popular because it’s what the world, even a lost one, truly desires. Though our world is cruel, most people don’t want it to be. They want it to be like Wonder, where the odd, strange, are accepted, appreciated and loved for who they are. Yet in spite of all the anti-bullying programs or talks about “being kind,” don’t expect it. It’s nearly impossible to work up that which you don’t already possess inside. This world has little time for those who are different. Love and patience are not the fare a lost world naturally serves up. Sadly, it’s a dog eat dog world that lives out the worldview continually taught, the evolutionary worldview of survival of the fittest.

Yet, it occurred to me, as I watched Wonder, that it’s exactly what the we, the Church, must be. Scripture teaches that every person is a special creation, made in the image of God and designed by Him, (Psalms 139:13-16). We must not be content with being Pro-life; We must be Pro-living. We’re to be Jesus in a cold, harsh world. Our Lord cared for those who were outcasts or obnoxious. The demon-possessed who screamed for attention. Blind beggars who disrupted His sermon begging to be healed.

The next time you’re in public and observe someone who is disabled, watch the responses of those around. Rarely is there compassion, but annoyance and impatience. Watch how people react to an elderly person with a walker or wheelchair. In a restaurant, you can almost feel the disdain for someone who is grossly obese.

And what about children, particularly those with special needs? Then, what about those who’ve been overcome by sin? The immoral, the addict, the drunk, the pedophile, unwed mother, the recently paroled. Our world has “sanitized sins” that are socially acceptable. But violate those standards and you are a pariah. The “No Vacancy” sign is quickly posted.

In the Church, that must not be us! No one was beyond Jesus’ love and care, not even those who rejected Him. Our Lord continually reached out to them again and again. As they crucified Him, He prayed for them and loved them, “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.”

For several decades the Apostle Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians have echoed in my heart, both rebuking and encouraging me: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (6:9-11).

We who have personally experienced God’s love and grace, do we really dare we say to another image bearer of God, “You’re not welcome here! You’re not our kind of people!”? While at Grace, because of the teaching of Scripture, we’re not an “affirming” church, yet we must be an accepting one – we accept any and all sinners who are just as guilty, just as loved and just as reachable by the Cross as we are. A church that truly shares the grace of God really is a Wonder and that’s not just a nice story!

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Immigration and Heavenly Citizenship

“Prejudice is a learned trait.

You’re not born prejudiced; you’re taught it.”

Charles Swindoll

Gustave Le Bon was one of the first scholars to write about crowds as group entities separate from the individual people within them. His 1895 book, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, shaped academic discussions for half a century and encouraged 20^th century fascist dictators, including Hitler and Mussolini, to treat crowds as emotional organisms — something to be manipulated and controlled. Take, for example, the effect fear has on a crowd. A panicked crowd can lose all semblance of rationality, charging madly and trampling anyone who can’t keep up.

Politicians and those in the media are often master manipulators. Rather than using logical, reasoned arguments – they abuse emotional arguments, investing large sums researching trigger points to manipulate the populace.

Yet, too often we in the Church are manipulated by those in this world system, forgetting that we’re first citizens of another world and Kingdom.

One of the most highly charged subjects in America are ethnic differences and immigration. Personally, I think many in places of power want to do little other than keep the problem emotionalized. Problem-solving is not in their best interest. The media increases their ratings and politicians can rally their base by throwing them “red meat” rather reasonable solutions.

God’s Word has much to say about immigrants and “strangers.” Though written to the nation of Israel, “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:33-34), the principles apply to us, the Church. As “strangers” in this world, we’ve been shown great mercy and grace. It’s imperative then that as God’s people, we also show great mercy and grace. But many Christians mime the talking points of a secular world when it comes to immigrants. We devolve into nationalism when our focus should be evangelism. Our first commitment must be the Great Commission.

Is it right to have political opinions? Yes, but they must always be subordinate to Kingdom mandates. For example, people will nearly go ballistic about being asked to press a certain number if you speak English but another number, if you speak Spanish. They’ll pontificate that if you come to America, you should learn to speak English. But is it really a big deal? As a Christian, should I be more concerned that someone from another culture and country knows the language of the gospel than how to speak English? Shouldn’t that be my primary concern?

Two books of the Bible focus on immigrants: Ruth and Philemon. Jesus’ most popular parable portrays a despised foreigner as a hero showing mercy when nationals (and religious leaders failed), the Good Samaritan.

Ruth has many of the traits that enrage many Americans. She’s from an enemy country, one that attacked Israel in the past. She’s very poor, so poor that the Law had welfare provisions for those in her situation that cost profit to citizens. No doubt she had an accent and dressed differently. Yet, the book of Ruth is not only a great love story, it flows with grace, mercy and redemption. God’s hand was on Ruth’s life, so much so that she’s in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus (Matthew 1:5).

In Paul’s letter to his friend, Philemon, he writes of a runaway slave, Onesimus. As a runaway slave, Roman law justifies the death penalty. Yet, how does Paul respond?

Paul bases his logic on love rather than authority — both his and that of Roman law. He steps in as the advocate on behalf of the criminal who’s now become a brother in Christ. He requests that Philemon receive the runaway as a brother, and even as if he were Paul himself. Hospitality is no small issue in the Roman world. Paul personally accepts any debt, moral or economic, and asks Philemon to charge it to Paul’s account. Finally, Paul expects Philemon to do even more than Paul has asked.

What would happen to the gospel, to our mission, if rather than reacting as Americans first, we responded to immigrants as we see patterned for us in Ruth and Philemon, as Christ-followers? Foundational to our mission is the command of our Lord to “make disciples of all nations.” The arrival of immigrants into our neighborhoods have brought the nations to our doorsteps. This movement of people is not an accident. The God who made all people also “determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live…so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him” (Acts 17:26-27). While economic and sociological reasons drive people groups to migrate, God sovereignly superintends the movement of people so that they might come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ and follow Him as disciples. This is why it’s so important for believers to combat the strain of anti-immigrant attitudes that pervade American society.

Christ-followers cannot see foreign neighbors as an intrusion to our way of life, but as God’s sovereign opportunity for Christ to be expressed in this world. The immigrant who arrives may be a brother or sister to be added to our fellowship, or a lost soul in need of the gospel. We must first be Kingdom motivated not nationalistic. We are heavenly citizens and King Jesus’ values must be our mandate! This world is not our home!

Thursday, March 1, 2018

I kissed LEGALISM good-bye

“Make no laws upon the saints where Christ hath not made any.”

Walter Craddock

A recent issue of World Magazine (02-17-18) included a feature article, “Hindsight and Hope” about Joshua Harris and his book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye. Harris—author, former senior pastor of Covenant Life Church is still most famous for something he did at age 21 – his best-selling book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye. Now decades later, he’s revisiting the subject by working on a documentary called I Survived I Kissed Dating Goodbye. In this documentary both Harris and readers question and reflect on the impact of his book.

The motivation behind Harris’ book was well-intentioned. It was aimed at teens and twentysomethings, discouraging sexualized relationships and proposing that courtship, in which a couple moves purposefully toward marriage with their parents’ blessing and involvement, was a superior model to dating. The book rightly argued that physical intimacy before marriage was a violation of the sacredness of married sexuality and could lead to lifelong regret. It was a reaction to “free love” with a hope of returning to a biblical worldview of purity and saving intimacy for marriage. Where it failed was that it systematized and made “rules,” where Scripture never does. While Harris didn’t do this, others took the book and made the principles in it tests of godliness. One was considered unspiritual if they dated and didn’t choose courtship. That’s legalism! Thankfully it’s a trend that’s essentially died, yet not too many years ago, the rationale was that godly singles practiced courtship while ungodly ones dated.

God’s Word is clear – sexual relations outside of marriage are wrong (Hebrews 13:4). Jesus even prohibited mental sexual intimacy and self-pleasuring sexuality (Matthew 5:27-30), but Scripture never systematized or gives any commands on dating or how to find a life partner. Today more and more couples are finding their life partner via the Internet or an online dating service. The Bible never prohibits that.

But human beings like rules. It’s one reason Islam is growing at an escalating rate – it has clear rules. The Pharisees loved rules. When Jesus questioned their manmade rules, they murdered Him.

Most rules have a good intent, but they easily become anchors around our souls, drowning us in arrogance, self-righteousness and legalism when we systematize them, making them yardsticks of godliness. But that’s always been a human tendency. While Scripture has clear principles of godliness, it doesn’t though clearly outline applications of those principles. Culture changes. Spiritual maturity means walking by faith and being sensitive to the Spirit’s leading in the midst of cultural change. The application of biblical principles must continually morph.

For example, the Bible teaches that Christians are to pray together, but never sets a time or day. During the revivals of the 1800’s, prayer meetings became very popular. Eventually they were systematized into the “Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting.” The Bible never commands that. Most prayer meetings devolved into another preaching time with prayer tacked on at the end. Yet, even today some Christians measure the spirituality of a church based on whether it has a weekly prayer meeting.

There are many other examples of this, from how to have devotions, to how often one prays, the percentage of a church budget for missions, to evangelism methods, to what one should wear to church, or even what a church ought to do or look like. It’s legalism to measure spirituality by man-made measures. God’s Word is often silent on specifics, but lists help us feel spiritual and feed pride – the greatest enemy of the soul.

The Christian life must be lived by faith. Where Scripture is clear, we must obey. There are countless areas where we’re to apply the principles of Scripture the best that we can and trust the leading of the Spirit. We’re also only responsible for our own walk with the Lord, not everyone else’s.

Personally, I find keeping myself spiritually sensitive and walking with the Lord is more than enough for me. Being someone else’s judge, particularly where Scripture is silent or unclear, is more than my wee mind can handle. I love these words from Augustine: “In essentials, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity.”

One Christian hero from another era, who was a seeming legalist, was Eric Liddell. You may know of him from the movie, Chariots of Fire. Liddell sacrificed an opportunity to win an Olympic gold medal because he believed it was wrong to run on Sunday, in his mind, “the Christian Sabbath.” Later, as a missionary to China, when he was imprisoned by the Japanese in a POW Camp, families and children were also interned there. Liddell tutored and was deeply loved by all the children. When the children played basketball, rounders, and hockey, he was their referee. Not surprisingly, he refused to referee on Sundays, yet in his absence, the children fought and Liddell struggled over this. He believed that he shouldn’t stop the children from playing because they needed the diversion. Finally, he decided to sacrifice his convictions to referee on Sundays.

It made a deep impression on those there. They saw an athlete, world famous for sacrificing success for principle, who was not a legalist. When it came to his own glory, Liddell surrendered it all rather than run on Sunday. Yet, when it came to what was best for others, he’d referee on Sunday. He sacrificed a gold medal for himself (though he ultimately won the gold in a different race) in the name of truth but would bend over backward for others in the name of grace.
God doesn’t want us to be people of rules, He wants a relationship. If we have a healthy relationship with Him, we’ll do the righteous thing. We want to because He loves us so much and that motivates us to love Him and want to please Him.