Police brutality in the age of Michael Brown and Eric Garner

"Police brutality" has obviously been in the news quite a bit as of late. I put it in quotes as there are times when brutality (or extreme force) is necessary (arguably Michael Brown) and other times when it is not (Eric Garner). In the case of Garner, he had been hassled by the police dozens of times mostly about selling "loosies", or individual cigarettes, in a heavily regulated and taxed market that made the cost of a pack of cigarettes four times more than in bordering states and allowed for a thriving black market. My point is that, when you make a law for the police to enforce, it must be one that is worthy of being backed up by deadly force. After all, the law concerns itself with justice; not mercy. In no conceivable instance should Garner have been judged before death's door by the law for selling a legal product at a discounted rate. So next time you hear it celebrated that we are a "nation of laws" it should grieve your hearts. The law makes no man good and serves only to punish those who break it. How about us Democrats, Republicans, Independents and Libertarians come together to start rolling back the tidal wave of tiny, murderous laws and regulations that make at least 75% of us guilty of unknowingly committing at least one felony in our lives? No one should have to die for selling cigarettes.

I do not even judge myself

We started a bible study in Ephesians 1 on Friday at my house. The book is enormously important to the Christian as it begins with some incredibly important theology that is meant to establish the relationship between God and His children. It allows us to know who we are not from who we think we are, or from who others say we are, but from God in heaven. That is why in 1 Corinthians 4:3 the Apostle Paul refuses to claim any authority over himself. Pay attention to his words: "...it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me." He is making the case that God is his judge and, because of that, he has no authority to claim his own identity. This is important because we clearly derive our identity from that which owns us. If we are God's then He tells us who we are. If we are slaves to sin, then such reveals our owner.

So who does God say we are? We need to look at His promises in Ephesians 1 to find out. Here is Paul's exposition of the spiritual blessings of God upon His children:

1) We are chosen by Him for eternal life before the foundation of the world (vs. 4)

2) We stand holy and blameless before Him (vs. 4)

3) We were predestined to be adopted as sons - a term connotative not of gender but of inheritance (vs. 5)

4) We are redeemed from slavery by Jesus' blood and forgiven of all our sin (vs. 7)

5) He has revealed to us the mystery of His will - the uniting of all things in Him (vs. 10)

6) We have been given the inheritance of Christ - or all things the Father has given Him (vs. 11)

7) Our inheritance of eternal life is guaranteed by the deposit of the Holy Spirit in our hearts (vs. 13-14)

This predestination along with the forgiveness granted by the power of God is critical to establish us in the firm hand of God. In fact, the power that the Holy Spirit has placed in our hearts is the same "that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead...far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named..." (vs. 20-21).

We have been made alive and if our identity in any way comes from our continued effort to define ourselves then we cannot rest assured in the spiritual blessings of God in Christ through the Holy Spirit. You are either forgiven or you are not. You are either a son of God or you are not. You have eternal life or you do not. IT IS FINISHED! There is no middle ground that leaves us any wiggle room. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead does not leave any power for death to win. Once you are given the life of Jesus you cannot lose it. You cannot commit spiritual suicide when
you do not even own your life! Once God has called you His son you cannot just stop being His son. We have no power to rename ourselves once God has named us. That is why verse 21 establishes our identity "above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come." Your name depends not upon your work but upon the work of Jesus.

Surrender and Suffering with Thanksgiving

At the beginning of the year I chose the word "surrender" as one to meditate upon and lift up to the Good Lord. I have often found myself with a repentant heart but one that is not surrendered. In other words, in important areas such as my lust, envy, jealousy and self righteousness I would stumble and repent and yet find myself stumbling in the same areas again. Of course, this is a normal part of human nature and a huge reason why I am so thankful for the One who bent heaven down to earth to rescue me. I have found that surrender is not just passively placing myself into a position where I accept the buffeting of the world around me, but actively choosing to buffet the world around me and then joyfully, with thanksgiving, accepting the consequences of my actions. We get to make our decisions in any given situations but the world gets to choose the consequences. I want to have the desire to give up my life fully to the power of my Father in heaven in both action and consequence. 

What are the ramifications of such a radical attitude? Well, in my more honest moments with myself, it is the understanding that, to the greatest degree, my actual life is an instrument to surrender into the hands of He who is most able to wield it well in the most impossible situations. We can consider the situation of those hiding Jews from the Nazis. "Tell us where the Jews your neighbors are hiding are or your family will be sent to the death camps!" Without faith in a GOOD and POWERFUL God, this situation has an easy solution. Surrender to the will of the Nazis. But God desires that we surrender our will to Him and protect the lives of the innocent. So the active expression of my work that is meant to buffet the world around me in such an instance would be to deny the Nazis their desire and trust that the life of my family while in God's hands is in a safer position than my surrender to evil could ever get them. My action would have a very clear repercussion but, with an eternal mindset, my attitude in the glory I give to God would be that of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3, It was demanded of them to bow down and worship the golden idol of King Nebuchadnezzar. If they did not, they would be thrown into a fiery furnace. Their response?

"O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."

These men made their choice and their action was to bow only to the One True God. They accepted the potential consequences even to the point of their deaths and, thankfully, in this instance God preserved their lives. That's the attitude God, in His grace, wants to develop in all of His children. We are to fully place our safety into His hands and, when it comes to bearing our cross, we actively choose to strike a blow against evil when it is our time even to our own worldly detriment.

One of my favorite scriptures I relate to surrender comes from 1 Peter 3:13-17:

"Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be trouble, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is it better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil."

The Little Boy in Every Man; The Wounded Girl in Every Woman

I've spent a large portion of my life living as a passive man, enviously cynical at many times of the adventures seen in hero stories: A fair maiden is held by a maleficent evil, an heroic adventurer fights the injustice, vanquishing the wickedness and winning the lady's heart. But I've come to realize that the fight is all too real and I've missed the point of the parable entirely.

As a man, I was made to strike a blow against evil. I was formed from the dust and filled with the very breath of God to be that valiant man. But long ago before I even knew God, evil struck at my manhood and tried to rob me of my life through the lust of passivity.

"You don't really need to fight for a woman."

"You're not a man.You're just a weak little boy."

"Look at all the times you've failed. That makes you a failure."

I gave in to these lies for so long. But God, who is rich in mercy and love, found me drowning in the mire of my own guilt and rescued me. For eleven years now He has spoken truth to me.

"You are my son. I am pleased with you."

"I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness."

"You are more than a conqueror through Jesus who loves you."

Eleven years. The fight has been brutal at times with very little rest. But my Lord spoke to me today and said, "You may fight with your body but it is my armaments you use. You can do nothing without Me."

My eyes are open. I will fight the war with faith that the words of God are true and the words of the Evil One are deceitful. There is more at stake than just my life. The life of every person trapped behind walls is also at stake. The walls of the imprisoned maiden are not always built by a villainous character. Often the bricks of her imprisonment are handed to her and she builds her own prison. These bricks are named by the Evil One to strike at the heart of the damsel:

"You are not beautiful."

"There is no one who will fight for you."

"Love is just a lie meant to break your heart with false hope."

The abused maiden is in need of a Truth that will set her free. The crushed man is in need of the same. It is God's design that the true identity of man and woman would complement one another and the Evil One's design that they should be torn asunder. It is war and importantly one every man must fight.

As a man of God, it is my calling to rise up and fight. I want to fulfill my desire to be knight in shining armor for a damsel in distress. So I bombard the Enemy's position and set the captives free with every truth from the Word of God. The Evil One may have bricks, but I have artillery:

"He has made everything beautiful in its time."

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."

"To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment."

Dear friend, find your identity in Christ. He is the strength for the weary and broken-hearted. All who cry out to Him in faith will be rescued. Men, end your passivity. Surrender to the power of God and He will train you to be a mighty warrior. In the words of Gil Bailie, "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Jesus is the giver of life.

9-11 Reflections

I joined the Marine Corps after 9-11-01 to kill fanatical Muslims who wanted to die for a faith that professes to "love death more than we love life." Well, as the Marines would often say, "It is up to God to forgive and up to the Marines to arrange the meeting." That resonated deeply within me and gave me an outlet for the rage that consumed me in those days after nearly 3,000 people were killed. So off I went to the recruiter's office. How times have changed for me.

Many would say that my change was due to the resultant "mellowing" of one's nature as the years elapsed. I must disagree with that statement. Truthfully, I was adrift at the age of 19 with a religion that left me hopeless and seething. Anyone of a religion that is their own making will eventually come to such a conclusion. But now I have Jesus and He changes everything. It is written of Him:

"Remember that you were at that time se
parated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility."

I have since become a man more in touch with sorrow and grief for those who are perishing. As for God, it is my desire that "no man should perish, but that all should reach repentance" so, though I was again full of anger for the wickedness of the terrorists of ISIS, I was directed towards an approach of life-giving instead of life-taking. Don't get me wrong, their actions are deserving of death, but I began praying for the brutal men who found their sense of purpose in the slaughter of innocents. After all, was I not the same brutal man whose sin spilled precious Jesus' innocent blood on that cross? But God had mercy on me and gave me life. I must now do the same for God's enemies if I am to proclaim myself to be a friend of Jesus.

Living in the Moment

One of the greatest lessons that I have been learning this year is the necessity of living in the moment. Upon inspection, it is apparent that living in the moment cannot be done just for the sake of the moment as so many people suggest by the choices they make. For example, you cannot claim to be living simply because you choose to fall through the air after having jumped from a perfectly good airplane with the hope that your parachute opens! The momentary feeling of weightlessness does not, in and of itself, constitute life. Indeed, living in the moment well comes from an understanding of what the moment is for!

I was forced to use myself as an example this morning as I was thinking about a recent visit to a convalescent home. I went to offer some of my time to an elderly woman I have gotten to know but found myself full of annoyance with the expectation that she was going to be paranoid and bitter. She was this for a time and I sat back and listened to her complain without realizing that the PURPOSE of my visit at that moment was to inject LIFE into her surroundings. I was visiting a friend on the verge of death and not doing my utmost to row her away from the doldrums and into the life giving breath of The Spirit. No, I simply fell asleep on her. I couldn't even read the bible to her without dozing off. And that's the third visit in a row that has happened!

What's humbling and revealed to me a heart of transparent duty as opposed to overflowing love, is that I gave my friend the dregs of my day. I had been in school for eight hours and was exhausted. Of course I was probably going to fall asleep and fail to have the energy to take the conversation to better terrain. Life comes when it is gifted as a first fruit offering from the abundance of the heart as opposed to a last
fruit offering from what is left over. I only wanted to offer the leftovers because that is what the drudgery of duty conjures up. My next visit, therefore, will be in the morning when we are both bright eyed and bushy tailed!

Praise The Lord, for He rejoices over you with singing!

C.S. Lewis (from Reflections on the Psalms) provides an amazing perspective on why we should desire to praise Jesus, the Lover of our souls:

"I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses, but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are, the delight is incomplete till it is expressed."

It is written in Zephaniah 3:17 that,

"The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing."

He expresses His love and enjoyment for you by rejoicing over you with singing! How will you express your praise for Jesus today?