FINDING OUR VOICE

A new TV show began last year that audits musical talent as they search for "The Voice".  In our national debate, there are many voices clamoring to  speak for our collective conscience.

As we audition and choose the voice that fits us, God's love words offer counsel.

FATHER OF LIES
Recently a Presidential candidate mentioned "the father of lies".  The outcry was  "outlandish!"

The 2,000-year-old book and best-seller of all time speaks of an eternal struggle between good and evil.  The one in the black hat is Satan and the book calls him "the father of lies".  So what exactly was outlandish?  Thinking the struggle exists?  Thinking Satan is the father of lies?  Believing the book?  Speaking truth?

In today's world, disregard for the love words may cause them to appear unfamiliar.

THE AUTHOR OF SUCCESS

The best-selling book declares the plan for marriage and healthy living.  It sets out marriage as being for a man and woman and sex as being for marriage.  The Author of that plan is a gentleman, not a bully.  His book offers a path to success with optional compliance.  Do the voices which demand different choices have the right to buck His words?  Sure.  But who bucks success?  Our Father weeps at the choices that take us far from Him.

PROTECTING THE HELPLESS
One thing the book explains is that man has a dark heart.  Nowhere is that seen more clearly than in the issue of abortion.  Some voices hear the love words "before I formed you in the womb I knew you" and they take great comfort.  Other voices demand a cruel option.

For just a moment, set aside thinking about the ones pulled out of the womb and only consider the ones who survive abortions.  Think of the multiple times a former Illinois State Senator voted "present" rather than vote to protect babies born alive.  Think how that process of not coming to the aid of a living baby would play out.  Who is extreme in this issue?

UNREASONABLE
When the argument is made for Iran to have nukes, some say that they are a sovereign nation with the right to arm themselves as other nations do.  But not all nations are the same.  Predatory haters whose stated purpose is to wipe others off the globe...GIVE UP their option of a seat at the table with reasonable people.

God loves all people equally and the book proclaims His offer of another kingdom to ALL.  But not all take Him up on His gracious offer.  In third grade if you don't play well with others, your name goes on the board.  Lately the board is full of names.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
If the love words come into conflict with the government, what happens?  We can see clearly in Iran today.

A man named Youcef Nadarkhani read the book and believed.  For that he is sentenced to be put to death soon.  He was given a chance to recant Christ, but refused.  Youcef's resolute spirit withstood the arrest and imprisonment of his wife, separation from his boys, as well as his own three year imprisonment.

The words which saved Youcef also inspired and structured our government with liberty and freedom.  That's a terrific application of the love words...and the polar opposite of a theology that operates under the letter of the law.

KEEP IT TO YOURSELF
Prevailing wisdom regarding public faith seems to be don't ask or tell; faith needs to be private.  Is that what the love words say?

No.  In fact, the book says we were made for the PRECISE purpose of telling others about Christ.

A famous Christian spoke of going to heaven and taking as many with him as he could.  That's a far cry from Youcef's story because this believer wasn't putting a gun to anyone's head. But this Christian's freedom and assurance are so precious to him, he wants others to get in on it.  Jesus said if He be lifted up (spoken of) He would draw men.


THE HELP

There are many self-help books on every subject under the sun.  Amazingly, the Bible addresses all of our issues and then guides us home.  What a TREASURE to be opened daily.  As our nation seeks her national voice, it seems reasonable to listen to the voice auditions with an informed heart.  The Lord's ancient love words are true.  May He open our hearts to hear.

Holy words, long preserved

For our walk in this world

They resound with God's own heart

Oh, let the ancient words impart.

Words of life, words of hope

Give us strength, help us cope

In this world, where e'er we roam

Ancient words will guide us home.

Ancient words, ever true

Changing me, changing you

We have come with open hearts

Oh, let the ancient words impart.

(song lyrics by Michael W. Smith)

PRESIDENT'S DAY RELIANCE

Last week the President gave us a proposed budget that even Treasury Secretary Geithner testified was unsustainable.  The lights we see are an oncoming train, but many people seem focused on either American Idol or whether someone else picks up the birth control tab.

How can concern over the economy be optional?  Doesn't the borrower become the lender's slave?

The administration expresses concern over the deficit, but keeps flashing the credit card.  And people keep cutting him slack, saying..."well, it was worse than we thought".  I guess if there is no budget accountability, there is no prahhh-blem.

On this President's Day, let's remember our country's first administration.  Know what President George Washington and both houses of Congress did after his inauguration?  Their first joint meeting was to pray in a little stone church after the inauguration at Federal Hall on Wall Street in NewYork City (our nation's temporary capital).  "On the morning of April 30, 1789, bells rang out in the nation's capital for 30 minutes, calling the people to go up to gather for prayer to commit the future into God's hands...at a place especially chosen for that purpose."  Their humble prayer was "Lord, help us".  And President Washington's said:


"It would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes."

I had to read and reread that complex sentence to understand it; it's not exactly a sound bite.  But I do hear reliance on God.  Can we commit the time and energy to understand history...in order to learn from the ones who went before us?  Are we so arrogant to think we know better?

Today we are a nation divided.  There are fragments of black vs. white... rich vs. poor...bitter clingers to guns and religion vs. the more "broadminded"... the occupiers vs. the law-abiding...the union vs. non-union...proponents of nuclear armament vs. nuclear disarmament...and the environmentalists vs. the stewards who would not elevate creation above human need.

Ever wonder what God sees when He looks down?  Does He see us in groups?

A wise man once told me that God sees people in two groups...the humble and the proud.  People have either bent the knee and asked for forgiveness, or they hold tight to the reins while singing with Frank Sinatra, "I Did It My Way".

You don't have to be an Old Testament prophet to see destruction coming.  I cannot change the course set out by the president, but I can vote in November.  I cannot alter the course of history, but I can hold tight to the One who is able to turn the heart of a king like water.  Believing the phrase "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray"...I sense hope as believers get on their knees.

Our country should be sorry for the way we have regarded the Lord as optional in our nation's course.  We should tremble that we have put money above God.  We should feel dread because every year more than a million babies made in His image are aborted.  Our drift has taken us a long way from home.

It is time to call out to Him just as President Washington and that first Congress did...in humility.  "Lord, forgive us and help us come back to You."

BUDGET BROUHAHA

Do you live within your budget?  Do you quadruple spending to stay on budget?

Congress is mandated by law to give Americans a budget.  So why are we budget-less after over 1,000 days?  Sunday Jack Lew was on the talk shows and explained the reason we don't have a budget.

Mr. Lew said "We need to be honest.  You can't pass a budget in the Senate of the United States without 60 votes and you can't get 60 votes without bipartisan support.  So unless Republicans are willing to work with Democrats in the Senate, Harry Reid is not going to be able to get a budget passed."  Please note Mr. Lew repeated the figure of 60 votes twice.

Here are some good questions:

1.  Did you say we need to be honest, Mr. Lew?  Are we to believe the President's Chief of Staff is unaware of budget reconciliation, the process that does not require 60 votes, but only a simple majority?  The budget reconciliation process was designed ESPECIALLY to streamline the budget process. They gave it a simple majority vote and filibuster-proof design because they knew pettifogging is a sport in Washington.   click here

2.  Who is Jack Lew, anyway?  Maybe he's a novice that is growing into his new position as Chief of Staff.  No.  The President found Jack Lew over at OMB; he was the Director.  Mr. Lew also served as President Clinton's Budget Director.  Ironic?  The Office of Management and Budget's top man... the President's #1 budget number-cruncher...gets the numbers wrong.  Of course the other option would be that Mr. Lew did not tell the truth.  Neither option is particularly savory.   click here 

3.  Do Americans realize that there are FIFTY-THREE Democrats in the Senate?  The Senate actually could pass a reconciliation resolution with a simple majority.  So if the problem is not the GOP, then what IS the problem?  We remember last year's vote on President Obama's proposed budget.  It was 97-0.  Both parties were "agin'-ers" because the proposed budget was ridiculous.

Out of the President's mouth comes a 2009 promise to cut the deficit in half, yet it takes multiple wheelbarrows to carry all the subsequent deficit- spending proposals.  Today's faux budget offered by the President cuts an insignificant amount and adds to the deficit and raises taxes.  His words don't match his actions.

This discussion makes my stomach roll because there is so much posing.  Yet as unsettling as this brouhaha may be, the REAL threatening information in the Jack Lew interview came later in the interview.

You may remember the President tried an end run around the Catholic church, telling them they must provide services contrary to their belief system.  Somehow the President forgot the First Amendment words "Congress shall pass no law impeding the free exercise of religion".  Thwarted, he turned his guns on the insurance industry as a "compromise".

BY WHAT AUTHORITY does the President tell private companies what services that they must offer for free?  Listen to Jack Lew tell us.  click here  In this clip he says that the President's authority comes from the Affordable Care Act mandate (Obamacare).

It shouldn't.  The executive branch does not get to use my money to excoriate my conscience, nor it does it get to demand that private industry give away their product.  The President's unconstitutional power grab must be repealed.

LET ME CALL YOU SWEETHEART, I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU

(This is a blog repeat from 2009...because women don't want those Vermont teddy bears or hoodies, either.)

In this "perfecting" process called marriage, Mike and I have had thirty-eight years of trial and error.  We are worlds away from our oblivious beginnings in 1970, but still things can sneak up on your blind side. 

Mike has a personality whose comfort zone is in doing just the right thing.  When occasions are coming up (like Valentines) he starts getting uneasy.   My personality leans more toward the creative side, and with a dose of empathy.  So usually when I see his angst, we have a conversation about how I don't like to have to do something just because Hallmark declared a special day to act a certain way.  Then we trade cards and go out to eat.

But it wasn't always that easy...

When the kids were in junior high/high school, Mike was bringing home a rose in a bud vase at Valentines.  Now you may be thinking...that's good...he remembered.  Doesn't he get points for that?  Yes, but there's always a story and here's the rose story:

Mike's mother liked roses; I'm the wildflower type.  So I coasted a couple of years and then I was goofed enough to tell him that I really didn't so much LIKE roses.  That took a lot of energy from my harmonizer side, but I thought it was worth it to get things straight.  

The next Valentine's, I got three roses in a bud vase.  I flounced off to the bathroom, slammed the door and burst into tears, then pulled the heads off of each rose.  That felt good...but so much for "love is not touchy or resentful".   Mike was clueless, but desperate to figure out what had set me off.  Don't women like it when you give them flowers?

Well, this woman likes it when her husband listens.  And I count it important that Mike thinks of who I am and what would please me...not just check off the "to do" list with an oft-repeated and automatic gesture. 

The Cruses have lived through probably fifteen Valentine days since that bumpy one.  I can still tell that Mike dreads thinking something up.  And this year was more complicated because I'm on Weight Watchers, so chocolate wouldn't be helpful.  I've found that loving your man is loving who he is and speaking your needs.  So I said..."what I'd like more than anything would be for you to sit down and write me a letter about why you love me."

Best Valentine's EVER!

"Love is patient, love is kind...love is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it pays no attention to a suffered wrong...love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person...love never fails."  

1 Corinthians 13

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Really?  Why that light subject today?

Well, this morning I've spent time on a FB thread that had more than 80 responses about taxes, Obamacare, and the Catholic response to the President's mandate.  Then we swerved into capital punishment and I couldn't fit all these words into the box.

If any of you "postees" are listening, here is another take on capital punishment.

Scripture has four voices on this issue.  We can consider God's covenant with Noah, the law as given to Moses, Jesus, and the Apostles.

NOAH

Everyone can probably remember the first murder in the Bible when Cain killed his brother.  Did God require Cain's life?  No.  He was punished, but God did not take a life for a life.  What were God's words to Cain?  "The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to Me from the ground." (Genesis 4:10)  Now we begin to pick up on the concept of blood demanding justice.

Fast forward five generations to a man named Lamech who was bragging to (or threatening) his wives. "Listen to my voice and give heed to my speech.  For I have killed a man for wounding me; and a boy for striking me. If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then I'm seventy-seven fold." (Genesis 4:23)  That seems like Lamech wanted his women to know that Cain may have been a bad dude, but he was badder.  That illustrates how when murder goes unpunished, the criminal flaunts.  Ecclesiastes 8:11 says "Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men are given full to do evil."

Know who Lamech's son was?  Noah.  By Noah's time, mankind was so corrupt, God incorporated capital punishment BIGTIME.  He took out everyone but the eight in Noah's family.  If we start with the premise that God can do no wrong/cannot sin...we can surmise that He wanted to start all over with the human race.  So guess what principal He left with Noah after they got off the boat and began civilization anew?  "Whoever sheds man's blood by man, his blood SHALL BE SHED for in the image of God He made man." (Genesis 9:6)  God is saying to Noah:

        *put some structure in place to deal with murder  

(Why?  Just as when someone burns a flag, they are disrespecting our country...when someone murders, they destroy something made in God's image and are therefore disrespecting Him.)

        *notice the phrase "shall be shed"...that is a command

        *for any society to function, there must be protection of life  

        *the command is timeless and for every society

Capital punishment is foundational to society because it restrains evil (the killer is removed), it prevents personal revenge (my desire for revenge won't lead me into sin because the government acts on my behalf), it fulfills justice (the government makes sure the punishment exactly fits the crime), it preserves society (murder leads to more violence), it elevates man's dignity (because man was designed to be the crown of God's creation and capital punishment is a value statement for life).

MOSES

Before sending His people into the Promised Land, God gave them a way to prosper.  He gave divine law in three parts:  the moral law (Ten Commandments), the civil law (how government should be carried out), and the ceremonial law (how they should worship).

Think on those three.  Are these same moral imperatives still in effect for us?  How about our legal system.  Are the Ten Commandments still in play?  Except for sacrifices, do the Jews still practice the ceremonial law?  Yes, uh huh, and yes.

The first five of the commandments showed how to prosper vertically/relate to God/initiate spiritual life.  The second five explain how to relate horizontally.  The first of that tablet (#6) is foundational to building civilization.  In the Hebrew it says "no killing".  Our King James translates "thou shalt not kill" and the NAS version says "thou shalt not murder".  What's the difference?  There are two Hebrew words for "kill".  One means to slay and the other involves malice.

WHAT GOD DID NOT MEAN WHEN HE SAID 'NO KILLING'

1.  killing of animals (only four chapters back God had provided quail, God required animal sacrifices, Jesus ate fish, and Paul wrote about what kind of meat to eat (not the kind sacrificed to idols)

2.  self defense (Exodus 22:2) this is where the laws on our books get the distinction of acting to protect yourself

3.  accidental (Numbers 35:9) God provided cities of refuge and if you murdered accidentally, you could move there (part of the penalty) but at least you were protected from the victim's relatives

4.  killing in a 'just' war (historically called a 'righteous war')  in WW1 and WW2 we were a defender nation, not the aggressor nation.  Think back to what would have happened if we had not "gone in".  Also consider that God sent Israel into war and ordered them to kill.

5.  capital punishment (there are people who stand outside our Cummins Prison on the night of an execution with a sign "thou shalt not kill" as though they have researched and found biblically no contradictions.  But they need to know that if they turned one page over from Exodus 20:13 to Exodus 21:12, it says "he who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death".  There are a number of Scriptures to consider (Numbers 35:33, Deuteronomy 19:13, and that eye for an eye Leviticus 24:17).

WHAT GOD DID MEAN WHEN HE SAID 'NO KILLING'

1.  homicide

2.  suicide

3.  infanticide

JESUS

Perhaps you are thinking that God was bloody in the OT, but the NT is different.  Well, God didn't grow up and become someone else.  Jesus said "don't think I came to abolish the law and prophets,  I came to fulfill them."  And in two different places in Matthew 5, Jesus had this to say:

(verse 21) "You have heard that the ancients were told 'you shall not murder'...but I say to you everyone who is angry with his brother is guilty."  He is saying 'you guys think you're OK because you've never murdered anyone.  But you are guilty before God of sin if you've even been angry in your heart.'

(verse 38) "You have heard it said 'an eye for an eye'...but I say to you, do not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him on the other."  Again, this is not a structure issue, but one of personal relationships.  He asks us not to seek personal revenge (which would make them judge and jury and executioner).  But they took that verse as license.  Governmental structure negates the need for personal retaliation.

Think of times when Jesus dealt with a situation that might relate to capital punishment.  What about when Peter whacked off the soldier's ear?  Remember what Jesus said?  "Peter, put your sword up.  If you live by the sword, you die by the sword."  In other words, the system (capital punishment) is in effect and if you shed blood, your blood will be required.

Think about when Jesus intervened in the stoning of the woman caught in adultery.  He didn't say "no one should be stoned".  He said "he who is without sin, let him throw the first stone".  Again, Jesus is convicting of sin as He sees their hypocrisy.  But He is NOT negating their system of law.

APOSTLES

As Paul was writing Romans 12, he is setting out how we are not to seek personal revenge or retaliation, but we are to let the government do it on our behalf.  That flows into Romans 13 as he fleshes out the governmental structure.  Paul says all authority comes through God (there are no maverick molecules in the universe).  Sometimes God chooses to govern corrupt people with corrupt authority.  Still, if you disobey the law of the land (so long as you are not contradicting God's law) you are still rebelling against God.  Obedience to the law equals obedience to God.  He says "want to have no fear of authority?  Do what is good." And in Romans 13:4 Paul writes "authority is a minister of God to you for good.  But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing.  It is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil."

There are words that light up in that verse.  SWORD (the government is to use the sword, which is an euphemism for 'take a life'.  There is no mention of parole or jail.)  FOR NOTHING (government is to use the sword, not to have it for nothing).  AVENGER (seeks retaliation and administers God's wrath.  God executes vengeance upon citizens who murder and government is His minister).  WRATH (a stronger word than 'disciple' or 'condemnation'.  This is the boiling anger of God against those who murder.)

So that is Paul.  What did Peter say?  "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to the king as one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right."  1Peter 2:13,14  Governors are given the task of punishing evildoers.

SO WHAT?

Scripture is in one accord on this issue.  Through Noah, God said if you take someone's life, your life is required.  Through Moses, we heard it was a life for a life.  Through Jesus, if you live by the sword, you die by the sword.  And through the apostles, we heard government is to use the sword.

But when government does not do its job...when they get soft...we see the effects.  Violence follows violence.  There is an increase in personal vengeance.  And what you and I might feel as we glance behind us @the ATM....FEAR.

God is just and that is our place of safety.  But in that justice is a responsibility to set in place the government's sword.

PUNXSUTAWNEY, WILL, AND SATISFACTION

 Punxsutawney Phil says six more weeks.  Well, that's funny because we really haven't had winter here yet.

I couldn't help but think when I put out the January snow decorations... how ridiculous they looked in 55 degree weather.  I'm conflicted.  Can't wait to put out Christmas decorations, and then can't wait to jerk 'em down.  Then that makes the house drab, so out come the white candles and glittery snow stuff.  That white is calming after all the Christmas festivities.

Son-in-law Matt keeps an eye on the Farmer's Almanac for his principal duties.  He reports that contrary to Punxsutawney's assessment, the almanac says this winter will be mild.  It also says next winter will be brutal.  How DO those guys get it right from so far away?

Mike and I snuck off to Florida for a short visit to bake our bronchitis lungs in the sun.  It was nice and warm there in the low 70's, but the sun was only out briefly.  Still we sat hopefully on the beach and listened to the waves crash.  It was fun to sleep with windows up.  And there was lavender lantana blooming.  And seafood.

Now we are back in town for the watch party.  It's the WillWatch, because he's scheduled to come in the next two weeks!   Last Friday was Beth's last day to teach, and now she gets on the sewing machine in earnest.    Last month in the ultrasound room, it was magic to look inside and watch Will wriggle.  Soon Nate will be wriggling with him.  Happy landings, little loved baby boy.

As I think back on January, my favorite thing was getting to go to several of Beth's showers.  Two were for assorted friends and two were school showers (Holcomb/Ramay).  People have been kind to be excited with the Saferites.  And generous!  Over and over women came up to me to express how much Beth meant to them.  At the friend's shower, there were several kids that Beth had tutored and they wanted to come see "Miss Beth".  

When our kids establish their lives (their friendships and credibility and lifework) there is something deeply satisfying.  At some point I came to realize/trust that my mistakes made in raising our two can be repaired.  The One who loved them first can fill their holes like putty; He stands at the ready for them to ask. 

A very wise man gave Mike and I an analogy a long time ago that has stuck with me.  He said that parents have all these connector wires that run from us to our kids.  We go from being responsible for everything in their lives as babies...to doing less and less for them as they make their own choices.  And part of our job is to take each wire and pull it out of our side (pain implied here) and plug them into God.  

After all, He is the TruthDispenser and Everpresent Counselor.  And He will take them home.