Math or Life?

We were in the midst of our Wednesday night bible study when the call came in. My daughter, who just found out that she and our son-in-law were expecting their first child, was suffering in a lot of pain and was scared. We went to a local hospital into the emergency room. After a few hours, I went into the room to check on her. The initial news; the child is in the fallopian tube. My daughter was scared, crying, overwhelmed with what the doctor had been saying and in absolute need of grace and support. Her husband wasn't in much better shape. I knelt in prayer, they joined, and we sought God and asked for His counsel. The choice; attempt to allow the child to continue to grow and risk both or have the child's life ended and save mom's life.

We are not pro abortion. We are pro-life. We believe that life begins in the womb and that is a human child that is developing. We believe that life is a gift from God, it is a sacred gift. The taking of that life is never the preferred option.

This is not a letter, I repeat, not a letter, in which I am advocating for or suggesting that abortion be made illegal. The legality of abortion does not approach the heart of pro-life. Many drugs are illegal and that doesn't stop their use, sale or curb the degree to which the disease of addiction assaults mankind. Pornography on the other hand is legal and is one of the fastest growing addictions in our country. This is not about legality.

Nor should it be about mathematics.

As I sat with the kids as both pastor and dad/father-in-law, we talked about options, about the fact that we don't have all the facts yet and how scared of surgery my daughter is. We also spent time laughing about her fear of needles given her tattoo collection.

The issue to which this letter is addressed begins when the doctor comes in and we began asking a number of questions. The doctor tells us that the child is "not viable". We talk about my daughter getting admitted for the night to meet with the OBGYN in the morning. Then, here comes the heart of the matter, the doctor advises us that "the pregnancy needs to be 'resolved' soon." Resolved? Are you kidding me? This is a child, a human who is growing within a young woman. This is not a "solve for y" question.

Doctors, please, we who are Christians see these children as children. We don't have to physically see the child in our arms before we know that it is a child. This is called "faith". As you go through your cultural sensitivity training, please add in some Christian sensitivity training. Learn to understand that this is a life. We are making a choice between lives. In the end, we will have to go through a grieving process. The child already has a nickname. We will have a funeral, as Christians do. The family will have to travel through the stages of grief and healing. The funeral will be an integral part of our healing process. It is one of the many means by which we will express our grief over the loss of this little one. We will then continue to pray, seeking God's will in our lives and turn our face toward the future in hopes that they, my children, will be blessed with the gift of children themselves.

As you are putting your turkey into the oven this morning, please know that a young woman is facing the loss of her child. Please give thanks to God in the midst of this for her life and the life of her child even if it is a short life. We will. After all, I believe the bible is God's word. In it, He writes to us that we are to give thanks in all circumstances. So, we are giving Him thanks this morning. As I write this, I am still in prayer that God will spare both.

As I went to edit this sitting in the surgery waiting room, we received the news. It is not a tubal pregnancy. What the doctor saw on the ultrasound was a cyst. The baby is fine! God, we thank You.

The Reverend Frank R Lockwood 2^nd

Armageddon Study

Bible Study:

What about Armageddon

 

Read Luke 17:23-36

 

V23; "Look, here…."

 

The warning is to be careful about not following the finger pointing or the charismatic move in the moment...don't chase the miracles

 

V24; "Son of man" moving like lightning—the false prophets

 

V26-30; Like Noah, Like Sodom—there won't necessarily be any direct warning—we are instructed to remain watchful and ready but at the same time to go about our day to day

 

V31-36; "Rapture" according to some—according to majority of biblical scholars it refers to the final judgment, the separation of the righteous from the condemned

 

"But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." ESV Mk 13:32

 

What hour?

Read verse 31

Which summarizes verses 14 to 27 of Mark

 

So, what can be said about the Revelation given to John?

 

Facts:

• No one knows the actual time frame that is put forth in Revelation: some events have corresponding historic events during the writing of Revelation, yet appear to have further fulfillment yet to come Rev 12:1-6
  
• Prophecy is rarely given in chronological order that correlates to "calendar time"
  
• The symbolism is provided as symbolism in order to allow the prophetic fulfillment as God chooses
  
• One of Jesus' greatest teachings regarding the kingdom of God was to quit the preconceived notions of what it has to look like when it comes so you don't miss it
  
• The prophecies are provided to encourage the believer who is watchful that "time is drawing near" (in other words don't give up)
  
• There are three levels of prophecy
  

1. Describing what happened in the spiritual
   
2. Describing what is happening in the physical
   
3. Describing what will happen in either the physical or spiritual
   

Revelation speaks using all 3

• To gain any depth or insight into it, one must pull back out of the physical and see through God's kingdom perspective, as in having the mind of Christ and seeing through Holy Spirit
  
• If someone calculates the date of Armageddon, that is probably the day it won't happen
  
• In the Eternal of God's time:
  
  • The beast has already come and is still to come
    
  • Hell exists now but has not yet been formed
    
• Etc.

Born Again; a bible study

Bible Study: Being Born Again

 

Read John 3:1-8

 

What does Jesus it is necessary to be born again in order to see?

 

What does being born again mean to you?

 

How do you know you are?

 

Read Ezekiel 36:25-27

 

How does this compare to the above passage?

 

 

Read Galatians 5:19-25

 

What are the "works" of the flesh and what is the fruit of the Spirit?

 

Why works versus fruit? What do you think the difference is?

 

What do you see more of in your life today?

 

How about ten years ago? What differs from them to now?

 

 

 

 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17

 

Read John 3:1-8

 

What does Jesus it is necessary to be born again in order to see?

 

What does being born again mean to you?

 

How do you know you are?

 

Read Ezekiel 36:25-27

 

How does this compare to the above passage?

 

 

Read Galatians 5:19-25

 

What are the "works" of the flesh and what is the fruit of the Spirit?

 

Why works versus fruit? What do you think the difference is?

 

What do you see more of in your life today?

 

How about ten years ago? What differs from them to now?

 

 

 

 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Christians are wimps

I'm jumping to a conclusion on this one?

Maybe, but not likely. Often I encounter this when folks are talking about faith and living out life as a Christian. It would appear, and most attendance records confirm, that the prevailing attitude is one that faith, in particular Christianity, is a girl's thing, that there is no room for a "man" in the faith and that you have to turn in your man card once you come to faith.

Survey says?

X

When I was 18, I was brought down to the Egg in Albany for a Christian rock concert. I can no longer remember the band that was playing, but the music was good. After the band played, a guy got up on stage and began speaking. He talked about how difficult his life was growing up. He shared about violence, gangs, drugs and alcohol. He talked about how he was able to have people afraid of him as a result of his reputation. He shared about how a man approached him one day about coming to know Christ. Ultimately, this man accepted Jesus as Lord and found his life begin to change. Along the way, he too faced the idea of becoming a wimp for the sake of his faith. In the process of facing this, however, he came to the conclusion that being a Christian, a real live out your faith no matter what they say believer and follower of Jesus Christ, was by far the toughest fight he had ever been in. He offered to us in the audience to come forward, to take on the fight ourselves, to get ready to take on the toughest decision we would ever make. I did that day, with a couple of hundred others bouncing in front of the stage shouting "Jesus is my Lord". The man giving the talk was Nikki Cruz.

I have found that living out life as a Christian man is by far the toughest fight of my life. I have to face the fact that my faith is not popular. My faith is often (as it has been throughout the centuries) counter cultural. I hold myself to an ideal that was given at the dawn of time and continues to this day. I am bombarded from the right by people who think they are the only smart ones and have figured out "the way" to find "whatever" but I have to be smart enough to follow them. On the left I am constantly bombarded by those who say I am cruel and judgmental because their feelings get hurt over my beliefs. They jam their beliefs down my throat and tell me its progress; it's a better way, its progressive revelation or some other means by which to rationalize the change. Should I mention my own beliefs and I'm getting accused of hate speech and the ACLU is knocking on my door.

Family, supposed friends, other acquaintances and even in the tightest confines of relationships…all have left or altered their end of the relationship with me based upon my beliefs/faith. Many have turned away. Some just call less often because I'm not "the same person" I once was. I'm not interested in joking around about sex. I'm not interested in ogling the skin show at the beach, mall or other locale. I'm not interested in getting drunk, stoned or stupid. In truth, I like not having headaches, makes the day go by so much better. And each time they see me………

Yet, in my faith I stand. On The Rock, I rest. I have to. I am called to and I said "yes". No matter the battering of waves of public opinion, the storms of intellectual self worship or the shaking of political belief systems I remain a follower of my Lord Jesus Christ.

Are you tough enough?

Teach me again

It amazes me the love You have for me

Even when I rejected and retreated

You continued to pursue

As I desperate to avoid

 

I pulled away, piled over and covered up

Ignored, down sized and often pretended

The "I" was deaf to Your cries

 

Songs and glances, dreams and visions

Stirrings of my heart causing yearnings

Internal flaring, Your Spirit

Using many to call

 

Through all the faults, missteps and bungles

I cursed, cried, yelled and screamed

Shouting a chorus of "whys"

 

Until the wind of storms calmed

Below a dull roar

Then into my heart from within

Your Spirit a glimpse

 

That leads to a turn of the "I"

Taking me deep within Your heart

Cleansing me of where I've been

 

Showering me in the love of your son

How You loved me first

The price You are willing to pay

Patiently, You teach me again

Waiting

Over the past couple of months, I have heard from a number of individuals and in varying ways, the word "rest", associated with/connected to the Lord seeking us to learn to rest in him, bringing us into a place of rest, learning to wait, etc. In the process of meditating on this and seeking for it to penetrate deeply, I was led to Isaiah 40:31 "they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up on wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they shall walk and not become weary." The previous verse references those who live in the flesh and how even young men will become tired from their running and walking, yet, in this verse, the Lord gives a time when a person won't become tired or weary; that time being when they learn to wait upon Him.

Wait? No, it is not just simply stopping. This word that gets translated as wait also means to have hope in or to fix sight upon. It is not a passive word. It is an active verb which rather than focusing on "movement" focuses on "focusing". Confusing? No, not really. It goes back to what has often been said of what it takes to be defined as a Christian (or even a pastor, prophet, priest or some other title). It is less about doing and much more about simply being. The fruit of such shows itself true and stands in witness rather than the actions directly. This is the deeply reference point for "wait upon", simply being with God, seeking His presence, seeking His face, hoping in Him, trusting His promises, letting His promise dictate your responses rather than your circumstances and what you see dictating your responses. Learning to wait equals learning to rest.

When we rest, He then is afforded the opportunity to have strength provided that goes beyond our fleshly strength. We are guided outside of ourselves and into a place whereby our minds get renewed, as in Romans 12:2 "be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind in Christ Jesus…." This learning to "wait" or learning to "rest" is about faith. When we worry, we demonstrate a lack of faith because worry is not part of God. How can something like this be said? Simple, God commands us to not worry. Why? It is because worry comes out of a spirit of fear. Worry seeks solutions that we can use our own reason as a way to get through. Worry seeks solutions that we can provide ourselves or out of our own strength. It finds its strength in fear, driving us to become deeper in our self reflection and absorbed in our own self and circumstances rather than being led to focus outward on the one person we should be afraid of; God himself.

Yet, the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, is not even that same fear that we access when we begin to worry. The fear of the Lord, understands very well our position versus His position, and to be struck with the awe that goes along with understanding this and yet even in this still encountering the incredible Love that He has for us. You see, according to the word, we are not given a spirit of fear. God does not give this to us. He gives us a Spirit of Adoption (by which we cry Abba, father <daddy in Aramaic>). It is this Spirit which should then be leading and guiding us, rather than any spirit of fear. If your image of God is one of Him pacing and wringing his hands………your god is too small. The God I know has His feet up. His feet were up when He spoke creation into existence, and they will be up when there comes a new heaven and a new earth.

This is the Spirit which we have been given. In learning to trust that Spirit and Him from whom that Spirit comes, we learn to rest and wait. Out of that resting and waiting, our strength, which is no longer coming from our flesh, is made new and we are given all we need.

Come Lord and bring that Spirit, may we learn to wait, rest and trust, that we may soar with you, trusting not in our own strength, but trusting instead in what You have promised and have already fulfilled, through Your Son, Jesus.