What Have We Lost?

Before the election on November 6, a large number of political pundits were expecting and predicting a strong Romney victory.  When the results were in I sat, like millions of Americans, in stunned disbelief, wondering what on earth had just happened.  The outcome should have looked more like 1980, when Ronald Reagan triumphed over Jimmy Carter, but it didn’t.  Analysis of the Romney loss has run the gamut, most of it blaming the candidate or the GOP.   There is a much deeper reason, however, why 2012 didn’t turn out like 1980.  Very simply, we don’t live in the America of 1980.  America has lost something since that time, something that has altered the soul of our nation.  Songs like “American Dream” by Madison Rising and “American Heart” by Faith Hill attempt to convince us that the American spirit is still alive and well, and it is… in a minority of American voters.  The majority of voters that re-elected a failed president to a second term, however, have lost essential elements of the American spirit that would have been required to get this nation back on course.  It’s not difficult to identify what is missing from America 2012 that was far more prominent 30 years ago.  Four elements of that American spirit lacking today are easy to identify. 

The first missing ingredient is faith.  Secularism is on the rise in this nation, as it has been for 50 years.  The secularists have taken over our key American institutions of academia and the media. We see the rise of secularism in the “war on Christmas,” that was lost most recently in a court decision barring churches in Santa Monica, California from setting up a nativity display with 60 years of history behind it in a public park.  We see it in the required evolutionary instructional paradigm in every public school that does away with any need for a “creator” to explain the origin of life.  We see it in the philosophy of scientism that touts the belief that science can solve all our problems, given sufficient time and resources.  We see it in the increasing number of Americans, now almost 20 percent, who claim no religious beliefs or affiliation.  Yes, millions of Americans still profess faith in God, but a large slice of them live as “functional atheists,” going about their daily routine without ever acknowledging God’s existence in word or deed. 

Another element of the American spirit that has slipped away is our heart. There once was a deep sense of community that ran through our nation that could be seen in neighbors sitting on their front porch chatting with one another.  Now suburban Americans open garage doors remotely and close them before exiting the car, only to go out and sit on the back yard deck or patio behind a six-foot privacy fence.  Because of high mobility, extended family relationships are largely a thing of the past that now show up only on the holidays, when we hop in the car or on a plane to visit relatives for a day or two.  Yes, a sense of community still exists in small towns all over America, and in extended church “families” that truly do care for each other.  And this sense of community also resurfaces in times of disaster, like Hurricane Sandy.  But in big cities and suburban enclaves all over this county there is isolation and a sense of estrangement from community that breeds government dependency.  When close family and caring neighbors are not there to step in and help in times of need, the government becomes the primary provider of a “safety net” that grows larger and larger, and increasingly looks more like a snare to entrap us than a cushion to lessen our fall, or a hand out designed to enslave us, rather than a hand up to help us back on our feet. 

A third element of the American spirit that has been lost is a sense of decency.  Over the past 30 years we have witnessed a coarsening of our culture that has robbed us of much of our dignity as human beings.  Only the few who read the writings of our Founding Fathers will apprehend the deterioration of our speech, both in terms of an inferior command of the English language, and the resultant flow of filth from the mouths of so many Americans, that mirrors the language graphically portrayed in movies and pop music.  Respect for human life as sacred and valuable in every instance and at any stage is appreciably diminished.  The Judeo-Christian values that once provided a firm anchor for morality in America have been called into question, or rejected outright as “Puritanical” or “narrow-minded.”  Thus, anyone with the audacity to uphold the ancient societal norm of marriage between one man and one woman is viewed as “hateful” or “homophobic.”  Ours has become a society in which the primary value is tolerance, which results in a stubborn unwillingness to call almost anything wrong or to label anything as evil.  In this America, a candidate with sterling character and high morals is not viewed as any better a choice than is a candidate who is seen to be “hip” and “cool” in the eyes of pop culture. 

The fourth element of the American spirit that has been lost is freedom.  It was a fierce spirit of independence that led our forefathers to make a declaration that could have cost them everything yet just might, by the hand of Providence, result in real freedom in this land of opportunity.  They understood what few Americans today realize.  Real freedom requires both risk and sacrifice.  America 2012 is far too willing to live in bondage, whether that takes the form slavery to mounting debt, both personal and national, or servitude to the government itself, as our tax burden steadily escalates and bureaucratic regulations multiply.  The belief that our rights are inalienable, granted by our Creator, has given way in the minds of too many of us to a belief that we have a “right” to government provided jobs, retirement, healthcare, indeed, security itself.  Thus, we have come to imagine that the government grants us our rights, and by consequence of that same belief, that the government can take them away.  This is not freedom as our Founding Fathers envisioned it!

Without these four elements of the American spirit firmly planted in the American psyche, we cannot hope to be the nation we once were.  The America we have come to know and love cannot survive without faith, heart, decency, and freedom.  No politician can restore these to our souls.  Only by genuine repentance of what we have become, and a heartfelt return to the God of our Fathers can we restore these elements to the American soul and restore our nation to its former greatness.

Intolerance on the Left

I'll never forget the morning I walked into the Starbucks on South Hill in Puyallup, Washington.  I had come there to meet another pastor, and I was just a few minutes early.  As I wandered through the coffee shop I saw many people that I knew.  Almost everyone of them was either a member of my own church, Our Savior Lutheran in Tacoma, or a fellow believer from one of the other Christian churches in Puyallup, whom I had come to know in the community.  There were only a handfull of people in Starbucks that morning who were unknown to me, but nevertheless, I knew that every one of them was also a Christian.  How did I know that?  They were clustered in twos or threes, coffee and pastry on their tables, alongside their Bibles which were open for study.  Some had their heads bowed and their hands joined as they prayed together around the table.  I found it remarkable at that time, largely because Western Washington is one of the most unchurched areas in the whole United States.  Yet, there, in a Starbucks on an early weekday morning, every one of the twenty or more people in that coffee shop was a practicing Christian.

As I think back on that morning I find it even more remarkable in a way.  Why is that?  It has to do with the recent flap over Chick Fil A, as a result of comments made by President and COO Dan Cathy in support of traditional marriage and family.  The "left" was up in arms, many calling for a boycott of Chick Fil A.  The mayors of Boston and Chicago even threatened to block any future Chick Fil A restaurants in their cities.  A Chicago alderman promised that no Chick Fil A would ever be allowed in his ward.  And in New York City, the NYC Council Speaker asked New York University to immediately end their contract with Chick Fil A.  Sadly there was at least one example of hate-filled vandalism against a Chick fil A, accusing the restaurant of hate just because they uphold traditional family values.  Gay activists threatened a "kiss-in" against Chick Fil A, which all but fizzled and was essentially non-existent by comparison with the "Chick Fil A Appreciation Day" on August 1, which brought literally millions of patrons to the more than 1600 franchises nationwide.

The message that those restaurant patrons were trying to send was not just about appreciating the traditional values espoused by the Cathy family who founded Chick Fil A, but even more, it was a message about freedom of speech, and the right of every American to not only hold to, but to express their own point of view about marriage, family and faith, without being condemned or worse yet, coerced into compliance with the "politically correct" viewpoint.

So as I thought back to that morning in Puyallup, what struck me at this time was that unlike most on the "left" in regard to Chick Fil A, those Christians in Starbucks that morning were perfectly content to let Starbucks be Starbucks, while they enjoyed their coffee and pastries, along with the comfortable setting Starbucks provided for Bible study and prayer.  Come to think about it, the Starbucks management and employees in that coffee shop were also perfectly happy to let the Christians exercise their faith within the confines of their establishment that morning, even though the corporate ethos of Starbucks is undoubtedly very different from the values of the Christians who were patronizing it that morning.

Yes, I've heard Christians call for boycotts of businesses who support the gay agenda, but for the most part I don't think those calls are very successful.  One of the organizations I personally support called for a boycott against Home Depot because of their support for the gay community.  I have to confess that I still shop at Home Depot because they are the most convenient place for me to find everything I need for my house and yard.  And in a very real sense, I too believe in freedom of speech.  Although I strongly support traditional marriage for both cultural and religious reasons, I'm willing to let the Home Depot corporation express their support for a different point of view.

When you think about it, where has freedom of speech and freedom of religion thrived?  Only in Christian cultures and nations.  And why is that?  Because the Christian religion has nothing to do with coercion or threats.  Only when someone freely gives their heart to Jesus because Christ first loved them enough to die for their sins, can they ever be called a Christian.  Yes, Christians do believe in certain moral principles and values, and we believe that some of these principles need to be upheld by society through laws put in place for the safety and wellbeing of the people of our society.  However, individuals are free to disagree and to seek to persuade others regarding their point of view.  Nevertheless, the moral principles and values that Christians seek to uphold are usually the longstanding truths that have been a part of our culture and society since the founding of this nation.  The "left" wants to enforce a new standard of morality (or immorality depending on your point of view) and wants to silence and punish any and all who disagree with them.

So even though Christians are labeled "intolerant," in reality Christians are no more intolerant that those on the left who want to silence the traditional or Christian point of view.  This nation was founded upon the Judeo-Christian world view and Judeo-Christian values found in Scripture.  That worldview and morality may not prevail forever in our nation.  It certainly has not been the predominant worldview in all of human history.  But those of us who hold that worldview and values should not be forced to keep silent just because our beliefs are based upon the Word of God.  We should not be forced to capitulate to the voices of secularism, just because our nation does not have an established state religion.

I believe the voice of truth was heard very loudly last Wednesday, on Chick Fil A Appreciation Day.  It was a voice that spoke of traditional family values, but it was also a voice that spoke loudly and clearly for freedom of religion and freedom of speech as guaranteed in our First Amendment.  We must not let our voices be silenced by those on the left who call us "intolerant," but who are themselves so intolerant that they are unwilling to listen to our point of view without calling us hateful and bigoted.  Let us always exercise our right as citizens to speak up, but let us also remember to speak the truth in love.  I think Chick Fil A Appreciation day was a great way of doing just that.

How God Cut a Covenant With Us

We don't use the word covenant in our everyday language very often, but Scripture uses it all the time to describe the relationship between God and His people. The common word that most people would substitute is the word contract. When we enter into a contract we talk about writing, drafting, or signing a contract. Interestingly, in the Bible you don't write a covenant, you cut it.

 If you're wondering where this language came from, you can look at Genesis 15. Here God makes a covenant promise to Abraham, that his descendants would be like the stars in the sky or the sand on the sea, and that He will give him the land that He promised to him. But how could Abraham know that God would keep His promise, especially since Abraham was an old man with no hope of having a child?

 In Abraham's time there was a common ceremony that a king would use to enter into a covenant relationship with people he had conquered. The conquered people had to take animals from their flocks or herds and cut them in two, laying the halves on the ground with a path between them. The king would then make a promise about what he would do for them, and he would also command the people what they had to do for him, like the tribute they had to pay. He would then command the people to walk between the animals that had been cut in two, and the king would threaten to do the same thing to the conquered people if they would not obey his commands and keep the covenant. This is how the language of "cutting a covenant" came about.

 When God made His promises to Abraham, He told him to do the same thing. God said: "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." Abraham did as God commanded, cut the animals in two and laid them out on the ground. Then he waited. I'm sure that Abraham was expecting God to tell him what he had to do as a beneficiary of the covenant promises that God had made to him. And I'm sure He expected God to command him to walk the path between the pieces as a threat of what would happen to him if he did not do as God commanded.

 As Abraham sat there driving off the birds of prey as he waited for God's command, something entirely different happened. "When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces." What was that all about? The next verse says, "On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abraham." Essentially, in the form of "a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch" God Himself passed between the cut pieces of animal that were laying on the ground. Instead of threatening Abraham, God threatened Himself. It was as though God told Abraham, "If I fail to keep the promises that I have made to you this day, I will destroy myself." How amazing is that?

 God essentially told Abraham that nothing would keep His promises from coming true. Sadly, however, Abraham's descendants broke the covenant that God made with them. They forsook God and worshiped and served the idols of their pagan neighbors. What would God do now? Would He abandon them or destroy them? In fact, what God did was make a new covenant, a covenant that promised "I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more."  (Jeremiah 31:34)  But how could God do that? Only through the death of His own Son, Jesus, could God offer the forgiveness of sins freely to all who believe as Abraham did.

 So what did it take for God to keep His covenant with Abraham? What God had to do once the old covenant was broken, was to do exactly as He threatened to do when He cut that covenant with Abraham. He had to destroy Himself. Even though He was not the one who broke the covenant, God was determined that His promises would never be broken. Therefore, God Himself came into our world in the person of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, and He sacrificed Himself for our sins, so that we could be right with Him! Isaiah 53:10 says, "It was the LORD's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer." Why? So that the covenant would not be broken. So that God's promise would be true. Scripture says: "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ." (2 Corinthians 1:20) 

Who can comprehend such a God, a God would would let nothing, nothing interfere with His promises, not even if it meant the death of His own Son. What an amazing God we serve! He cut a covenant with Abraham, and kept it by cutting down His own Son for our sins. Praise God for His all surpassing grace!

Face to Face

"Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always." Psalm 105:4

A few years ago my wife gave me a book for Christmas entitled "Need for the Bike." I loved it! If I haven't been out on my bike in a few days I start to feel that need. I tell my wife I need some bike time.

Even more important than bike time, however, is face time. There's no substitute for being face to face with my wife, or with any of the people I love and care about. We all understand this, and it's why "Face Time" on the iPhone, iPad and MacBook has become so popular. It's alsy why Skype is so widely used. Even though it's not the same as being "face to face," Face Time or Skype is a better alternative than just hearing the other person's voice over the phone, or worse yet, just exchanging an email or text message.

There are times when I try to "multi-task" around my wife. As she's talking to me I'm looking at the computer, reading a book or a newspaper, or playing a game on my phone. Her stunning accusation is, "You're not listening to me." In fact, even if I am able to repeat word for word the sentence that she just spoke, it doesn't help the situation. The reality is that she wants some face time. She wants me to put down what I'm doing, look her in the eye, listen to what she says, and respond appropriately. Face time is demanding!

Face time is also rewarding. It's cements relationships. It strengthens bonds. It increases trust. It brings joy. It mends rifts. That's why face time with God is so important. Yes, that's what I said, "face time with God." But how do you get "face time" with a God we cannot see?

God has clearly revealed Himself to us, through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." When we look to Jesus we are enjoying face time with God. But even Jesus isn't bodily present here on earth. So how do we get our face time with Him? The answer is found in God's Word. When we spend time in the Word, we come face to face with God.

But so often, we don't enjoy the kind of quality face time that we should. We are too rushed to make time for our personal Bible reading so we settle for just being in church. Or we do our devotional reading out of a sense of obligation, just rushing through it to get done. We don't meditate on His Word. That's face time with God.

Sometimes we just shoot quick "arrow" prayers up to heaven about the immediate need in our life, and fail to spend any focused time in prayer, speaking to God from the heart and listening for His Spirit. That's face time with God. But when quick "arrow" prayers is all that our prayers consist of, we're not seeking God's face. All we're seeking is His hand or His gifts. God wants us to seek His face.

And sometime we're too busy to sit down face to face with a hurting person and listen to their needs, hear their hurt, and share their pain. That's face time with God, believe it or not. Because when we do this, we're being Jesus to the person we're face to face with.

Face time is important. Let's not do to God what I sometimes do to my wife, multi-tasking our way through the day without ever spending any real face time in His presence. God's Word tells us to seek His face.