Bearing our cross . . .

Just think about it!

"One Man's Opinion"
A weekly Christian commentary by Jim Roane

If I see aright, the cross of popular evangelicalism is not the cross of the New Testament. It is, rather, a new bright ornament upon the bosom of a self-assured and carnal Christianity. The old cross slew men, the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it.
— A. W. Tozer

Dear Friends,

We should not be amazed that the old faults of the past continue to reassert themselves. Men and women it seems are willing, sometimes eager, I might say, to acknowledge the goodness of Christ without bowing to His holiness. Willing, as it were, to give Jesus lip-service but not submission. The truth of the matter is that the Bible is dead-set against making Jesus anything less than God incarnate worthy of worship and obedience. Platitudes and showcase Christianity are a bane to the Church, causing countless to lose faith, become disheartened and slip into the shadows. The church for many is simply just one big revolving door. The heavenly manna is gone, so they leave empty and hungry.

Why is that?

The simple facts is that that babies are not conditioned for a marathon, so when the journey becomes long and tedious they fall by the wayside. Milk Christianity will never make the grade (c.f. 1 Cor. 3:1-2), so that should come as no surprise when they do fail. Nor should it surprise anyone when I say that there is nothing wrong with milk, if as Peter reprimands us we rid ourselves of all wickedness, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander in order to mature into a  spiritually heathy adult (c.f. 1 Peter 2).

Now, I know it is easy to blame the pastor for not preaching the word and giving the people enough meat to live on; however, the truth is that many don’t want the word, they prefer a magic wand that someone can wave over them and fix all that ails them, spiritually, financially, physically and otherwise. Because of this many pastors, admittedly, have fallen into that trap. It’s a whole lot easier to preach a Gospel of grace than it is to remind the congregate that there is no such thing as cheap grace. Grace comes with a price. First of all it cost The Father His Son which in turn cost His Son His life as a ransomed for many, as Scripture reminds us (Mark 10:45, et. al.) Then lastly, although not lease by any stretch of the imagination, it cost us the work of becoming holy as God is holy. That cost comes in many forms, chiefly among them is our inordinate ambitions, secret sins, fleshly desires—yes, and even giving more than lip service to tithing and special gifts to help grow the church or help the needy. The number is far too large to enumerate; however, does not diminish our responsibility to count the cost. In this regards, now listen to the words of Christ:

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26-33).

Counting the cost for those of us who have past the prime of life also means that we should take an occasional inventory just to make sure that we are not laboring in vain (Psalm 127:1; Luke 14:28). Paul, we can all agree was indeed a holy man; however, he was never one to sit on his laurels. He, himself, admitted that even the best of athletes, including himself, must discipline themselves daily and stay in shape to even stay in the contest to eventually win the prize (1 Corinthians 9:27).

For Paul it was not enough to enter the contest but rather to finishing it is all that counts. Otherwise, it is like a boxer beating the thin air expecting to get the championship belt by simply going through the motions, or a marathon runner running around aimlessly imagining that’s enough to win the race. It just doesn’t work that way. Simply because, to quote Yogi Berra:

"If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else."

 Be blessed, better yet bless others,

JimR_/-

Election Year Hallabaloo . . .

Always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. (2 Tim. 3:7)

I don’t know about you, perhaps it is just me, but I find it increasingly difficult to distinguish between the current political campaigns and the Ringling Brother’s Circus. Surely, we should not be asked to take the process seriously. And, in my opinion, herein comes the rub. These are serious times. No room for politically correct shenanigans or name calling here, as far as I am concerned.

The whole scene reminds me of the words of Christ, when he said in Matthew 11:16-19):

“To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: “ ‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’”

Could it be that sensible people are simply turned off by the whole scene and see it as just another game that Americans play every 4 years, or whenever there is another election? I think so. There certainly seems to be a majority that fit the category.

Further, in this same parable, Jesus reminds them that even when unadulterated truth faces them---in this case, John the Baptist—they sluff it off by discrediting the messenger, with these words:

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’

Then He ends the parable with this cryptic statement: “wisdom is only proved right by her deeds.” For years, I wrestled with what that meant, now I understand that all Jesus was saying is that “the proof is in the pudding.” In other words, where had all their shenanigans lead them? Most assuredly nowhere. Nothing wise about that. That’s for sure.

Now, may I ask in all sincerity, “Where will all this election hullaballoo lead us?”

Unfortunately, without God, I must say, we will only have more of the same in the foreseeable, and beyond according to the Bible I read.

At this point, I ask myself if I am a pessimist by nature or are these the facts. Well, to answer that: neither; I’m a realist. Be that as it may, however, this is no excuse for me or for any of us to stand idly by.  For we must work, until we can no longer work. (John 9:4).  

As ever, be blessed—better yet, bless others!

JimR/

Dallas and beyond . . .

By now most of the world has heard about Micah Johnson, a 25-year-old Army veteran who shot and killed 5 Dallas policemen and wounded several others. While reflecting on the incident and watching the press emote over the event, I turned to Scripture for an answer. But not just any answer … I wanted the answer. Of course, I knew and have always taught that Christ is the answer; however, I questioned whether he alone was sufficient. Well, of course, the truth is yes and no. He is the answer in so far as we allow him to be; but herein lies the crux of the matter: in all honesty we seldom do. We would rather fix the problem ourselves.

Our solution is generally a call for more highly trained police, and/or more economic and social equality and less inflammatory rhetoric or something along those lines. Seldom do we see ourselves as the culprit.

Now, keep in mind I am a white man and I know what white people say by-in-large in private.

Far too often the illegal alien Latino is labeled as just another wetback, and budding criminal if not one already.  The same brush is used to paint the welfare mom, or an unemployed black man as just another example of a drag on our society. Ignoring the truth that not all welfare moms are out to scam the system, or that all unemployed are blacks lazy. Sadly, when we choose such labels, the love meter slowly begins to tilt towards either indifference or a seething prejudice which in turns leads to bitterness or in some cases violence.

The truth of the matter is that on some level we have all been guilty of generically labeling some a misfits and drags on society simply because they do not fit into our perfect picture of how things should be. Make no doubt about it, there are criminals and lazy bums, as well as the garden variety of misfits, but to treat them differently than God treats them is grossly sinful.

Micah Johnson and Dallas Police Chief David Brown are a case in point. Ironically both men are black. Obviously, both have seen the world though different lenses. Johnson’s view was filtered through hatred; whereas, Chief Brown chose to filter his through love and service. Now keep these two in focus and let us man up and admit that far too often we have been guilty of throwing all blacks into the same basket along with ‘wetbacks’ the gays and lesbians or the transgender, or the bourka dressed  Muslim next door, and perhaps for good measure those annoying Jehovah Witnesses that just rang our door bell, or what have you. This is true, whether we admit it or not.

We as Christians must never allow ourselves to be tainted with the rhetoric of hate or embrace an attitude of disgust simply because we cannot see past the color of one’s skin or their country of origin or, for that matter, their religion. Ours’s is not to judge but to love. Only God is capable of both. We are restrained from judgement: that is His job. For even "… God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3:17)."

A lassie fare attitude will not work either. We must become involved. If an open forum is not a comfortable style for us, then privately in our work-a-day activities or in our private moments with those around us. Keep in mind, however, that we are not God’s moral squad commissioned to fix this broken world. Our job is not to fix, but to offer a viable solution. Any less of a stance will eventually lead to irreconcilable differences, division, prejudice and hate. The bottom line is that none of us can cram love down anyone’s throat. So, that is not even an option.

On the other hand, though, we must embrace one another as brothers and sisters in love, or die as fools. This I say because America is not invincible, particularly so when and if we continue to allow ourselves to be divided one against the other in an atmosphere of hate and distrust. Black, white, the brown and all hues in-between are God’s children, as well as the 'haves' and the 'have-nots. '

As ever, be blessed and — 

 “Let those (among us) without sin cast the first stone … (John 8:7.”

JimR_/-

Dallas and beyond . . .

By now most of the world has heard about Micah Johnson, a 25-year-old Army veteran who shot and killed 5 Dallas policemen and wounded several others. While reflecting on the incident and watching the press emote over the event, I turned to Scripture for an answer. But not just any answer … I wanted the answer. Of course, I knew and have always taught that Christ is the answer; however, I questioned whether he alone was sufficient. Well, of course, the truth is yes and no. He is the answer in so far as we allow him to be; but herein lies the crux of the matter: in all honesty we seldom do. We would rather fix the problem ourselves.

Our solution is generally a call for more highly trained police, and/or more economic and social equality and less inflammatory rhetoric or something along those lines. Seldom do we see ourselves as the culprit.

Now, keep in mind I am a white man and I know what white people say by-in-large in private.

Far too often the illegal alien Latino is labeled as just another wetback, and budding criminal if not one already.  The same brush is used to paint the welfare mom, or an unemployed black man as just another example of a drag on our society. Ignoring the truth that not all welfare moms are out to scam the system, or that all unemployed are blacks lazy. Sadly, when we choose such labels, the love meter slowly begins to tilt towards either indifference or a seething prejudice which in turns leads to bitterness or in some cases violence.

The truth of the matter is that on some level we have all been guilty of generically labeling some a misfits and drags on society simply because they do not fit into our perfect picture of how things should be. Make no doubt about it, there are criminals and lazy bums, as well as the garden variety of misfits, but to treat them differently than God treats them is grossly sinful.

Micah Johnson and Dallas Police Chief David Brown are a case in point. Ironically both men are black. Obviously, both have seen the world though different lenses. Johnson’s view was filtered through hatred; whereas, Chief Brown chose to filter his through love and service. Now keep these two in focus and let us man up and admit that far too often we have been guilty of throwing all blacks into the same basket along with ‘wetbacks’ the gays and lesbians or the transgender, or the bourka dressed  Muslim next door, and perhaps for good measure those annoying Jehovah Witnesses that just rang our door bell, or what have you. This is true, whether we admit it or not.

We as Christians must never allow ourselves to be tainted with the rhetoric of hate or embrace an attitude of disgust simply because we cannot see past the color of one’s skin or their country of origin or, for that matter, their religion. Ours’s is not to judge but to love. Only God is capable of both. We are restrained from judgement: that is His job. For even "… God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3:17)."

A lassie fare attitude will not work either. We must become involved. If an open forum is not a comfortable style for us, then privately in our work-a-day activities or in our private moments with those around us. Keep in mind, however, that we are not God’s moral squad commissioned to fix this broken world. Our job is not to fix, but to offer a viable solution. Any less of a stance will eventually lead to irreconcilable differences, division, prejudice and hate. The bottom line is that none of us can cram love down anyone’s throat. So, that is not even an option.

On the other hand, though, we must embrace one another as brothers and sisters in love, or die as fools. This I say because America is not invincible, particularly so when and if we continue to allow ourselves to be divided one against the other in an atmosphere of hate and distrust. Black, white, the brown and all hues in-between are God’s children, as well as the 'haves' and the 'have-nots. '

As ever, be blessed and — 

 “Let those (among us) without sin cast the first stone … (John 8:7.”

JimR/