Happy Friday,
For we are not unaware of his schemes.
Paul, 2 Cor. 2:11
I’m not sure it’s fair to call our Adversary a one trick pony, but the description has some merit. Satan is not God’s equal-but-opposite. Not even close. He is a limited, broken, joyless and petty creature whose main weapon is deception. Satan lies and, well, that’s pretty much it. I’m not suggesting you underestimate evil. That plays into his hands. And though he is limited, we often help him multiply his work by adding our fear and pride to his deceit. I’m simply noting we should be alert to his schemes, after all, there is no reason to give the devil more than his due. BTW, the thing Satan lies about the most is Jesus. He works hard to persuade us that Jesus is neither as beautiful nor as merciful as He is.
Remember: You do not need to persuade me that COVID has downsides – sickness, death, lockdowns, loneliness, political acrimony and more. But just as C.S. Lewis saw upsides in war’s downside, we can see the same with COVID. In The Weight of Glory, Lewis wrote, “What does war do to death? It certainly does not make it more frequent: 100 percent of us die, and the percentage cannot be increased. Does it increase our chances of painful death? I doubt it. Does it decrease our chances of dying at peace with God? I cannot believe it. If active service does not persuade a man to prepare for death, what conceivable concatenation of circumstances would?” I share this quote because I am meeting more than a few who are terrified of COVID. Why, because they are terrified by death. It would be wrong to generalize, but it seems as though some think that if they avoid COVID they will avoid death. No. COVID does not increase the chance that we will die. In some ways, it does us a favor by reminding us that we will.
Scripture Memory: In a sermon a few weeks back, I encouraged people to memorize the first few verses of Romans 12. I’ve heard that I need to explain how to do that. Well, there are books, apps and systems to facilitate Scripture memory, but I’m pretty old school. I write out a verse on a 3×5 card and carry it my pocket. Then, throughout the day I take it out and read it. Eventually it sticks. Like much of life, it’s not complicated, it just takes discipline.
Without Comment: 1) Anxiety disorders affect 40M Americans, making it the most common mental illness in the US; 2) Video games produce more revenue than global movies and North American sports combined; 3) According to an NIH study, since COVID hit, college students are drinking a bit less alcohol but smoking a lot more marijuana.
Men’s Health: I avoid magazines that suggest I’ll see my abs again if I follow a few easy steps. (Those days are gone.) Consequently, my reference to men’s health is not a shout out to the magazine, it’s a reference to the state of men in the West. Alas, as this WSJ piece documents, all is not well on that front. And this is tragic. Say what you will, but families seldom do better than the men in them.
Well Said: After a pastor was thanked for delivering ideal weather for an outdoor gathering, he replied, “I had nothing to do with it. I’m in sales, not management.” Great line. I will be using it in the future.
Practical Ministry 452: A few months ago, I remarked on how thankful I was to have taken a certain seminary class thirty years ago. The course was: Leading Through Global Pandemics, Racial Tension and Economic Collapse. A few readers missed my effort at humor. Sorry, I’ll try to be more obvious next time. BTW, the reason I didn’t take the class on pandemics is because it conflicted with Creating Online Worship Services, Managing Remote Clergy and Developing a Digital Discipleship Plan.
It’s Been a While: It’s been a while since I’ve seen Alexander Fraser Tytler’s (aka, Lord Woodhouselee) Eight Stages of Democracy. As you may know, card carrying academics think little of this kind of thing. I understand why, history is not so neat. But I do think Woodhouselee’s piece deserves a review from time to time. BTW, if you think it has merit, what stage do you think the US is at right now? “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: 1) From bondage to spiritual faith; 2) From spiritual faith to great courage; 3) From courage to liberty; 4) From liberty to abundance; 5) From abundance to selfishness; 6) From selfishness to apathy; 7) From apathy to dependence; and 8) From dependence back into bondage.
Have You Studied the Study Guide? In college, some professors handed out the final exam in advance. I always appreciated that. Of course, not everyone took full advantage of the study guide. Be sure you do. (In the event that it’s not just my humor that is too subtle, let me be more direct. God has passed out the final exam questions. One of them is summarized in Matthew 25. Be sure to read it.)
The Sheep and the Goats
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Make a Difference Today: The Ambient Anger Index is climbing. Embrace the hope and peace of Jesus today and be the non-anxious presence those around you need.
Closing Prayer: You taught us, Lord, that the greatest love a man can show is to lay down his life for his friends. But your love was greater still because you laid down your life for your enemies. It was while we were still enemies that you reconciled us to yourself by your death. What other love has ever been, or could ever be, like yours? You suffered unjustly for the sake of the unjust. You died at the hands of sinners for the sake of the sinful. You became a slave to tyrants, to set the oppressed free. Amen. (Bernard of Clairvaux – 1090-1153)