Truth By Torture

And as they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air, the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way.  But when they stretched him out with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?"  When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, "What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman."  The commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" And he said, "Yes."  The commander answered, "I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money." And Paul said, "But I was actually born a citizen."  Therefore those who were about to examine him immediately let go of him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had put him in chains. (Acts 22:23-29 NASB)

The Eighth Amendment of Constitution of the United States protects its citizens from cruel and unusual punishment.  Americans assume that the implied requirement of presumed innocence is constitutional, but even without the explicit wording, the idea is clearly assumed by the framers.  After two hundred years, we also sort of assume all this is universal.  It's not.

The treatment of Paul by the hands of the Romans seems really strange to American ears.  To be beaten by a mob, and then chained, dragged into the barracks and tortured just to find out what was causing the riot is crazy to us.  Yet in that day, it wasn't.  And in our day, it's not as crazy as we might assume.  What I think is really interesting here is the way Paul handles it; very calmly and without fuss.

Paul causes quite a stir in the barracks when he claims to be a citizen of Rome.  His claim is based on his birthplace, Tarsus of Cilicia.  So, while the citizenship had to be purchased with a large sum of money by the commander, Paul was born with it.  This citizenship guaranteed Paul certain legal rights that others did not have.  It may seem odd to think that of all the mob, it may have only been Paul who was a citizen.  We might know in our heads that Roman citizenship was not typical, but when considered in the setting, it might feel odd.

So Paul was protected by where he was born, something over which he had no control.  It may have factored into his thinking that he would be able to get to Rome one way or the other.  It may not have really occurred to him until about to be tortured.  But I tend to believe that Paul had his citizenship very much in mind as he journeyed to Jerusalem.  The Romans kept a very vigilant eye on that turbulent city.  Very little happened that the Romans didn't either know about, or control to a degree.  The threat of Roman violence was never far away.

It had to enter Paul's mind that he would fall into the hands of the Romans at some point, regardless of what the Jews did to him.  I believe it factored into his "plan" such as it was.  But that doesn't mean that Paul used it as an excuse to run amok among the Jews.  He tried to demonstrate his faithfulness to his people with the vow he joined, but the timing was off.  How could the complexities of Jewish relationships with Gentiles be explained to a Gentile? It would make little sense.  But that is what the mob riot was about.

The commander would have understood to a degree since he had felt the hatred of he and his men coming off the people over whom he watched. He had to know that he and his men were not only not welcome, but despised by those they watched.  Judea was an occupied nation, the Jews an occupied people, and they did not take to it well.  But there was more at work than simply Jewish hatred of Roman Gentiles.

The accusers of Paul hated him for teaching of Jesus when that teaching accepted Gentiles.  Jesus as the Jewish Messiah was just fine, that they liked, and as long as that was where he stopped, he was welcome in Synagogues.  But when this Christ became Lord of all alike, the trouble started.  And that is what would be difficult to describe to the commander, torture or no.  It would have seemed to be of such little account that no riot would have ensued from it.

What is it in my life that puzzles others?  What  keeps them from connecting the dots of my behavior and consequences?  Why is it that I do what I do, and why do the things that happen to me happen?  It's not always easy to point to the events of my life and explain that it is my Master bringing them about, nor is it easy to use my Master to explain my behavior.  Sometimes, when these things occur around church, it's easy.  But still, it sounds and looks like what I do is about church, not specifically my Master.

The key I need to find is how to make my life so much about my Master, that the connection is unmistakable.  It my still be confusing and odd, but it should be unmistakable.  Paul will eventually make this clear in his discourses to come.  But I never know if the commander ever get to see or hear that.  What about those in my neighborhood?  Will my life ever display an unmistakable connection to my Master?  Will the Jewish Messiah be seen as the explanation of the behavior and circumstances of this Gentile?  Only if, like Paul, I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live.  Only then will He begin to emerge from the depths of my life.  Now, where can I find some nails...and a hammer.

It Was My Wife Who's To Blame, But I Helped Where I Could

It was a cocktail party and I don't drink.  That was the first problem.  The second was that I don't like to dress up.  But we went because we had to; part of the price for being invited to such a place.

The food was excellent, the band played soft and soothing.  I actually knew the people we sat with, so that helped.  And it was there that the  conversation happened.  It was my wife who brought it up; God, she asked my co-worker and her husband.  I chimed in on theological points, and we discussed different denominational views and so on.  It was a good conversation, and God moved them to reconsider a relationship with Him.

It was my wife who was to blame here, but I helped where I could.  I have no excuse for not running point other than that I was on the other side of the table.  But it is simply an excuse.

The food was amazing, the atmoshpere was very nice.  The conversations around us were loud, but we could still hear each other.  It was a good point to bring up the Maker of the ingredients used by the chefs.  The night was a good one.  But we still felt out of place among such "finery".

We hold the knowledge of the True Light illuminating every person coming into the world.  And yet the soft lights barely illuminating our food got more attention.  We spoke of Him to others, and the Master Light blessed.  It was not our favorite venue, but it was where He placed us.

But the new day shows up, and the water beckons.  We begin our day with a prayer and searching Scriptures.  It is a good day, begun well.  Will we serve our Master today?  Will I?

I've had my swim and my coffee, so I have no excuse of being sleepy.  It's another beautiful day in a paradise by the sea.

Views From Within The Beauty

Beauty is not only in the eye of the beholder, it is also in the eye of the Creator.



Perhaps the colors I see are only pale shadows of what I will see in heaven, but I truly enjoy the approximation here.  It is still the Sculptor of delicate petals and the Painter of vibrant colors I have to thank.  He is the One presenting these things to me, showing off, but the One who should be.

Is the color beneath the waves any less vibrant?  It's as if the very water itself glows with color and life.  Again the Sculptor and Painter presents His work, only this time we had to dive for it.

The closest approximation of people and technology just cannot touch the vibrancy of my Master.  How can I not point to the wonders of my Master and praise Him?  But how do I do it so others realize the beauty and think to praise?  I try.  That in and of itself will go a long way.  It could be that my Master will make up the difference.

Day 1 And I Already Need Help

I walk from the room to swim.  I need to wake up and accept that I am not here because of what or who I am.  I am here because I was once again, sent.  I have been sent here by my Master, and I am here at His service.  I seem to be forgetting that.  It is a vacation, but every vacation is also an opportunity to serve.

You see, it's the first day and I already see I have so much room for improvement.  My wife and I didn't pray over a meal last night, and I didn't think much of it at first, until a couple next to us did.  How simple an opportunity was missed?  I need to be one of those.  Not that I do it to draw attention to myself and any righteousness I might have (I have none but His), but rather because I accomplish two things.  It becomes clear that my Master has followers among them.  And these will hold me accountable for my actions and attitudes; they will know what I am because I will no longer be hiding.

I don't want to leave an empty spot where someone needs to see a disciple of the Master.  Master, You love me, You have my back, and I am at Your service.

Soul-Winning 101: I Can’t So Don’t

June 1st, and summer is in full swing already.  It is already hot, but the wind blows, keeping it bearable.  How often had the wind been in the mind of the writers of the Scripture?  It cools making the unbearable bearable, and sometimes it destroys.  In many languages, spirit and wind are either related or the same.  It seems it is a great illustration for my Master to use to make His ways among us clearer.

Chambers uses probably the most familiar text in Ezekiel, the valley of dry bones in chapter 37 (every preacher wants to preach this text, the irony is just too rich).  In verse 3, my Master has shown the prophet the valley and now asks, “Can these bones live?”  Chambers points out that there is no deliberation on the point by the prophet, he simply says, “You know, Lord Yahweh.”  The point Chambers makes is that we should be that way.  I like his reasons why.  To say, “yes,” is to put ourselves in the picture of their living and only the image of my Master belongs there.

I have been asked in interviews for ministry whether or not I am “evangelistic,” and I really dislike the question.  What I need to do when asked that is to then ask them to define their term.  Because invariably it seems they want to know if I will be witnessing to folks to lead them to faith in Jesus.  In other words, will I be the “salesperson” for the church directly, for my Master obliquely?  I usually answer no.  Because I hate sales.  Sales implies that I have some sort of control over the process; as if I can “bring them in”, and can keep a tally of all those I have won to my Master, “another notch in my pistol” and all that.  Hogwash!  Am I the God of Creation that I can save anyone?  I can’t even save myself!

The best I can hope for, and I do hope for, is to be an influence in the lives of others to the power and glory of my Master.  When I point to His existence, point to His inspired Scripture, then attempt to stay out of the way of His Spirit, I am that influence.  Too much of me will spoil the soup, that is a guarantee.  I am the broken pot which He has chosen, an example of His radical acceptance and healing power.  I am the lost one without hope of saving myself, an example of the Great Shepherd and Super Hero’s desire and compassion for such empty husks of humanity.

I have had people mention to me that they do not witness because they do not know enough of Scripture.  I have studied on a scholastic level for over 10 years, and I don’t either.  I already know that it doesn’t matter how much I know, I don’t know enough to save someone or convince them they need Jesus.  But I know the One who does.

It is the glory of my Master to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings to search out a matter.  Since my Master and my King are one and the same, I leave the searching out to Him, since He hid it.  What I mean by that is I cannot know the heart and life of another, even when they reveal part of it to me.  Only my Master knows all that.  So, it cannot be up to me connect the good news of my Master’s desire for someone to their life.  But I can be sensitive to the Spirit of my Master and follow His lead, allowing Him to make the connection. 

I haven’t prayed with many, leading them in a prayer of salvation.  Most of those with whom I have prayed were during my ministry either in Texas or Idaho.  I don’t even remember most of their names.  That may sound bad, but the impact I had on them was minor compared with the impact of my Master.  I don’t want to be remembered, not really.  I want the experience to be remembered and I want the experience to stick.  But mostly I want my Master to be remembered, how they were saved by my Master.  They may have prayed with some pastor, but they were saved by the Master of the Universe.

I hope I have had some sort of positive effect in the place I work now, among my co-workers.  Yet, I know that my mistakes have not been without witnesses.  So, what I am a witness to and an influence in is the radical forgiveness and acceptance of my Master.  Since so many need that, I hope my Master uses such a witness and influence.

Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost For His Highest": June 1st.

As if I Had Too Little to Worry About

I used to have a youth minister who had a favorite saying, "You can choose to be a good witness or a bad witness, but everyone is a witness."  So, I work around several people who do not believe as I do.  Some are agnostic, some are practicing atheists, some are just avoiding the subject all together.  Then there are a lot of believers as well.  To these I am a witness to my beliefs, and therefore to the power, glory, majesty, and grace of my Master.  So when I am sarcastic, cynical, biting, overbearing, condescending, arrogant, and so many other things of which I am a rather skilled practitioner, I choose to be a bad witness.

It is at this point where my day, my attitudes, my emotions, and all those things which are personal to me, within my boundaries, spill over into the lives of others.  I was raised with the perspective that my relationship with my Master is my business.  The relationship of others to Him is their business.  This is a poor, unbiblical perspective to have.  Those who do not know or have a relationship to my Master may hold that position, and may be bothered by discussions about spiritual things, but that should not be my position.

In Paul's discussion of the relationship of believers to one another in Romans 14, differing views about food are used as an example of how to treat each other when religious opinions differ within a body of believers.  In the midst of that discussion, in verses 7 and 8, Paul says that none of us live or die to ourselves, but rather all of us live or die to the Lord.  What he is saying here is that my perspective needs to be off of the views of those around me, and on my Master.  When that is true, then I will naturally be the "good" witness I need to be.  He will have me in such a manner that His qualities become spiritual fruit in my life.  Others will witness His glory, power, majesty, and grace through me.  I just need to focus on Him, not on myself or how well I do compared to others around me.

So, pretend everything is OK, fake it until I make it, think and act until it's true, and above all do not let anyone know that I'm hurting, sad, angry, or sick.  Hmm, no, I don't think so.  It is an undeniable fact that my Master drags me kicking and screaming through rough times.  Yes, I sometimes whine and complain, I sometimes mope or pout.  But to go through these times and pretend I'm not is to hide the glory and grace of my Master, cover examples of His power, and instead take false credit for false circumstances.  It is the power of my Master that enables me to endure tough times.  It is His grace that redeems me from mistakes.  It is His glory and majesty that shine through me when I respond well to good or bad things.  So, if I hide those tough times, failures, and good or bad circumstances then I hide those opportunities for Him to shine.

So, I need to be open with my circumstances and my prayer life.  I should be clear about what's going on and what I am doing about it.  My uncertainty about my future should dovetail with my prayer life, both in my life and in my conversation.  So, the humiliation of waiting in the dark for God to speak may come from doing so publicly rather than privately.  I would decrease, and He would increase.  I would no longer live or die to myself, but rather to my Master.  Then God would have something in me to use in the lives of others.

Too "Good" for God?

I know I'm not unique in this, but every once in a while I wonder about it.  In 2 Corinthians 5:14, Paul says that he is constrained (hemmed in or fenced in) by the love of Christ.  In that frame of mind, nothing else but the love of Christ matters to him.  His entire life is focused on that love which, initially called him to itself, and then proceeded to send him out as a messenger and witness of it to the rest of the world.  The activity of Jesus on my behalf, the glorious appearing somewhere around the corner, the throne of God, the Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World.  The visions of the glory of God are abundant, but are they my focus?

I have a problem.  I am fairly good at a wide variety of things, and have an aptitude for learning more.  It doesn't sound like a problem, but I believe that because my focus has not been on the glorious love of Christ, I have upstaged the Truth of which I am a custodian and servant.  I do not do so consciously, but I do not try not to consciously. If that does not make sense, let me put it this way. I really like the praise and attention of others. So when I do something right or well, I like the attention I get.

I am thinking now, and have before, that I am too slow to point to Jesus as the One deserving attention. I had someone tell me that I am too hard on myself, since lots of people do that or have the same issue. But does that make it acceptable for me? I doubt it makes it acceptable to Jesus. It's not that I should be pointing to Jesus as the One really responsible for whatever I do. I make way too many mistakes for that. I think I should be using any positive attention I get as an opportunity to advertise for my Lord and Master. It is the “Love of Christ” that I should be pointing to given any opportunity, because it is that very love that will enable others to experience the real core of my life, eternity.

I have a challenge now. If I am as “skilled” as I say I am, then I will see how far that skill really goes. I will attempt to word my advertisement for my Master in response to any praise I receive in such a way that it is both clear, and acceptable in a carnal corporate environment. I succeed when the subject of the response overshadows any attention on me, positive or negative. When I am upstaged by God, I will be truly successful, and finally live the call of Knight of the Realm, Servant to the King (KOTR SOTK).