“Scientists at loss to explain busy, severe tornado season.” So read Wednesday’s headline in the South Bend Tribune. “‘Right now we’re on track to break all previous counts through the end of the year,’ said warning meteorologist Greg Carbin at the Storm Prediction Center. And it’s not just more storms. The strongest of those storms—those in the 136-to-200 mph range—have been more prevalent than normal, and lately they seem to be hitting populated areas more, he said.” Just another fluke of unpredictable Mother Nature? Perhaps. But a week ago I went to www.dlinquist.com to track earthquake frequencies. The graphs begin in 1973 and climb gradually from 5,000 to 10,000 recorded earthquakes per year until 1995, when they spike to between 25,000 to 30,000 quakes per year by 2001 to 2005. 2008, only half through, has already logged around 25,000 seismic events (the most recent, of course, the May 11 national tragedy in China). Just another fluke on our unpredictable planet? One could so conclude. The massive human catastrophe of the cyclone in Myanmar’s delta region can be explained the same way, no doubt. But as the AP report about this year’s spike in tornados observed, “The nagging question is why. Global warming cannot really explain what is happening, Carbin said” (Ibid). At the risk of sounding like Noah, who for 120 years warned civilization of impending disaster (see Genesis 6 and 7), thus risking the taunt of the scoffers who have ever been quick to declare, “‘All things continue as they were from the beginning’” (II Peter 3:4), I am compelled to interject this reminder into the news media’s reporting of the recent spate of natural disasters. Jesus predicted that before his return: “‘There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the seas and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of the heavens [and the earth—Matthew 24:7] will be shaken’” (Luke 22:25, 26). Do these disaster spikes prove true Christ’s prediction? Or does his prediction provide the interpretive paradigm for understanding nature’s crescendo? Obviously the answer will depend on the questioner. It is in the accumulation of spikes—natural, economic, political, moral, religious—that the discerning mind of faith hears the call of Christ, “‘Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near’” (Luke 22:28). And that’s why, unlike the headline, faith is not at a loss to explain its confidence. For its bedrock is not the accumulating global numbers in the end, but rather the person and promise of Christ, “I will come again” (John 14:3). The spiking statistics are simply a reminder that the end of earth’s heartache and misery is nearer than ever before, which is reason enough for faith to hope and love like never before.
Pastors' Blog
By Pioneer Pastors
Several years ago someone gave me a book on humility. I love a gift book, but does it have to be that personal! But as it turned out, the gift book was truly that. And it has become a gift that has continued to give. It’s Andrew Murray’s little classic, Humility. I’ve brooded my way through it three times now, and I’m certain it will bless your own soul as it has mine. Murray, the great South African divine, makes a point that has stuck and rubbed in my mind like a burr under the saddle. Reflecting on Jesus’ admonition—“He who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11, 18:14)—Murray gives this prescient bit of counsel: “What the command does mean is this—take every opportunity of humbling yourself before God and man. Humble yourself and stand persistently, not withstanding all failure and falling, under this unchanging command.” What’s he driving at? “Accept with gratitude everything that God allows from within or without, from friend or enemy, in nature or in grace, to remind you of your need of humbling, and to help you to it. Believe humility to indeed be the mother virtue, your very first duty before God, and the one perpetual safeguard of the soul. Set your heart upon it as the source of all blessing.” Did you catch that? Embrace whatever humbles you! “See that you do the one thing God asks: humble yourself. God will see that He does the one thing He has promised. He will give more grace; He will exalt you in due time.” (p 90) Embrace that which humbles you. Embarrassment, pain, betrayal, failure—the list is legion of those difficult human realities that on occasion humble us in the eyes of others, but nearly always humble us in the eyes of our own souls. Embrace that which humbles you. Why? Because could it be that in such an embrace we will at last have within our reach the very virtue of God that outshines all others—and without which we shall not see him? “Not I but Christ—Tales of Humility” is a new biographical series (perhaps autobiographical for us all) you can download from this site. Six life stories that tell the story of our lives. I invite you to relive them all with me . . . that we might learn to embrace that which humbles us . . . and thus embrace the One who saves us.
What shall we do with our frozen emotions? The litany of natural disasters that have hit this planet over the last few days—with a 100,000 plus dead or missing from the cyclone in Myanmar to 19,000-and-climbing dead from the earthquake in western China to the twenty-plus who died in tornadoes across our southland—after awhile the television images of such poignant and massive suffering eventually become just another bit of suppertime news, don’t they? After all, how much can the human heart tolerate of suffering, even when it’s the suffering of strangers far away from us? Sociologists describe a “freezing” effect the constant reporting of local, national and global disasters or tragedies has on our emotions. I.e., we freeze up—our sympathy and empathy, once fresh and quick, become calloused and hardened through the repeated witnessing (vicariously) of human suffering. Logically, it makes sense, since the capacity of our minds to bear the trials and sufferings of others is necessarily limited. (How many people can you genuinely emotionally care for at one time?) But psychologists also tell us that an effective way to counteract the “frozen emotions” of the disaster cycles we experience is make a simple, tangible response. Tears of sympathy aren’t to be denigrated. But making a physical response to Darfur’s starvation victims or Burma’s cyclone survivors or Iraq’s orphaned children can keep the heart tender to humanity’s plight. What can you do? Join the Crop Walk tomorrow and pledge a few dollars (or enlist sponsors) for every mile you walk on behalf of hunger relief. Go the website of a international relief agency (such as the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, www.ADRA.org) and make a donation to their global disaster relief efforts. Can’t reach out to the children of Iraq? Then join the Benton Harbor Street Ministry in its weekly ministry to children of our own inner city. The point is, rather than just watching and eating (during the supper news), you can do something tangible to alleviate the suffering of someone else on this planet. Jesus’ final story before his death carries the punchline: “Amen, amen [Greek] I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these children of Mine, you did it to Me” (see Matthew 25:40). Can you think of a better way to keep our hearts “unfrozen” than doing something tangible for Jesus . . . right now?
Way to go, graduates! Ah, the power of saying Yes! As the 561 of you Andrews University graduates gather for this memorable academic rite of passage, I and the rest of us here at Pioneer want you to know that we’re cheering you on with the power of a Yes! After all, it’s your graduation promise: “For all the promises of God in Christ are Yes, to the glory of God” (II Corinthians 1:20). Did you catch that? As you head out the door of this campus, God is giving you a giant YES for all the promises you’re going to need for your uncharted journey. A YES for the wisdom and the hope and courage you’ll go on seeking, a YES for the grace and the forgiveness you’ll go on needing, a YES for the new dreams and patience and faith and persistence you’ll be wanting, a YES for all the love that the most important relationships of your life will be requiring. A giant YES wrapped up in Jesus. Not only because all God’s promises are a Yes in him. But also because through your friendship with Christ, you’ll become the radical change agent our world’s been needing all along. Yes! So take plenty of pictures, hug all your professors, laugh through the memories, cling to the victories, turn in your key. And as you drive away tomorrow, would you please say a prayer for us, too. That right here at Pioneer we can be God’s giant YES to the new class of young adults who’ll be following in your footsteps in just a few weeks. It was an honor to pray for you while you were here. Honor us please with your prayers for us now that you’re leaving. And in heaven when we next meet—let our “high fives” be for the Savior whose friendship has turned our future into an eternal YES. Together. With him. Amen.
The yellow and white flags of the Vatican are down. But who will forget the unprecedented national fanfare that accompanied the first visit of Pope Benedict XVI to this nation last week? Personally welcomed and greeted at Andrews Air Force Base by President Bush and his wife, feted at the White House with a regal welcoming ceremony attended by more invited guests than any previous such presidential event, two standing-room-only masses celebrated in a pair of iconic baseball stadiums in Washington and New York, adulated by the news media, an address to the leaders of the world at the United Nations—it was surely an unforgettable week for the pope as well!
And as a colleague of mine observed in his blog-letter to his readers, what was also noteworthy was the papal absence in this itinerary. In a gala celebration thrown by the White House on the evening of the pope’s birthday, noticeably missing at that party hosted by arguably the most powerful political leader in the world was the guest of honor. He was attending a prayer service with his bishops. Though unintentional perhaps, the contrast was inescapable.
The point? Moral leadership is what the world hungers for in this hour of history. The protracted election campaigns of both parties in this nation have been a reminder that moral leadership does not naturally ensue from the pursuit of the highest office in the land. Nor does winning that office ipso facto bequeath the mantle of moral strength to the occupant.
So in the face of a crisis, where is the world to turn for moral authority?
It would be simple to simply answer, to God. But whose God? The God of the majority? The God of the most powerful? The God of the most persuasive? While privately, citizens of the world naturally turn to their own God, history has taught that in a crisis nations turn to leaders—the world would do the same.
Which being interpreted means that those who worship the Creator God have a window of opportunity that may not be long this open. Now more than ever it is destiny’s calling to be about our Father’s business, declaring far and wide: “Fear God and give glory to him . . . . and worship him who made heaven and earth” (Revelation 14:7).
That’s the invitation of “The Sabbath” and “God’s Party” that end today. Download the podcasts, ponder the teaching, and spread the good news. For in a time of moral crisis and global need, it is the Creator alone who must move front and center.
Are we at war with nature? E. O. Wilson thinks so. In his newest book, The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth, he offers this intriguing definition of nature: “Nature is that part of the original environment and its life forms that remains after the human impact. Nature is all on planet Earth that has no need of us and can stand alone” (15). I.e., nature is what has survived the global encroachment of the human race. Is he right?
To support his premise, he cites the “stunning contrast” that exists in Brazil between the rainforests and the surrounding non-rainforest habitats that have been cleared and developed by humans. In the western Brazilian state of Rondonia, for example, entomologists have recorded 1,600 kinds of butterflies in a few square kilometers. In nearby pastures converted from rainforest by logging and burning, “there may be fifty species” that flutter across the “developed” land. “The same disproportion is true for mammals, birds, frogs, spiders, ants beetles, fungi, and other organisms, including, with a vengeance, thousands of species of trees and countless life forms that dwell in the canopy” (24).
Is E. O. Wilson right? Are we humans in the unchecked process of systematically eliminating ecosystems and life forms that can never be recovered on this planet again? And if that’s true, what about the Christian community? Are we nature’s great defenders or its unwitting detractors (even destroyers)? How proactive are those who declare their faith in an intelligent Creator in preserving his creation?
Or to put in the vernacular of the conservation movement, how “green” are you and I?
But why should I be “green” when the earth is so near its end? Wilson is befuddled with that reasoning: “ . . . perplexing is the widespread conviction among Christians that the Second Coming is imminent, and that therefore the condition of this planet is of little consequence. . . . For those who believe this form of Christianity, the fate of ten million other life forms indeed does not matter” (6).
But does it matter to you and me? In “Green Google,” our study today, we ponder the trumpet call of the Creator to defend his creation. Of all people on earth, shouldn’t creationists who celebrate the Creator on his seventh-day Sabbath be leading the movement to save creation, irrespective of when Christ returns?
Or does “the fate of ten million other life forms” really not matter that much to us either?
“Pastor, tell me I am wrong!” is Wilson’s plea (6). Is he?
Want to know why God doesn’t wear a watch? Probably because it would drive him to the same distraction it drives us! Ever find yourself racing across a parking lot or down a hallway or into a building or up a sidewalk . . . and constantly cocking your arm to check your watch? Someone once asked Mark Buchanan what his biggest regret in life was. He replied, “Being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me. I cannot think of a single advantage I’ve ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all that rushing.” (Spirit of Revival vol 39 no 1 p 10) Who has time to rest when we’re in such an insane hurry?
According to the January 2008 Reader’s Digest the average American worker receives 108 emails every day. 243 million Americans own cell phones or handheld wireless devices. Google currently indexes 3,307,998,701 web pages. We now get more information in 72 hours than our parents likely received in a month. (Ibid p 25) Who has time to rest!
“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). But how can I be still when my Timex ticks so loudly? Perhaps Calvin Miller is right, “Time itself must be surrendered to the pursuit of the depths of God. All watches must be checked at the gates of the throne room.” (Ibid)
Isn’t that the secret to the Sabbath as well? Checking my watch at the gates of his throne room? “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). But if my Blackberry’s beeping, my Timex is ticking, my laptop is flickering and my iPod is playing . . . how can I possibly check all my stresses at the gate of his Sabbath?
So here’s an idea. What if for the Sabbath we kept time the way God did “in the beginning?” Checking our watches at the gate, we enter his time, twenty-four hours of rest, bookended only by two glorious sunsets. No watches . . . one friendship . . . two sunsets . . . and the three words of our very best Friend: “Come to me.” Can you imagine a rest more satisfying?
Want to know what one of the most contagious human activities is? Don’t be surprised. It’s yawning. That’s right—opening your mouth so wide it feels like your jaw might drop off as you breathe in all the air around you—that six second (on the average) act of yours will lead 55% of the people who watched you yawn do it themselves within five minutes! In fact, you don’t even have to see someone do it. The blind will yawn simply from hearing an audio tape of someone else yawning. In fact, you don’t even need to hear a yawn. Just reading the word can cause you to yawn (as I happen to be doing right now—are you?).
Do we yawn because we’re tired? Nobody knows for sure, though it appears that we yawn the most frequently an hour before going to bed and the hour after waking up from sleep. Do we yawn because we’re bored? Who knows? Maybe it’s just that our bodies need more oxygen. After all Olympic athletes often yawn just before their competition. But one of the leading experts in yawning, Dr. Robert Provine, a psychologist at the University of Maryland (Baltimore County), has determined that giving people more oxygen does not decrease yawning (nor does decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide). It turns out that the most significant fact about yawning is that nobody knows for certain why we do it.
But for the sake of argument, let’s say we yawn because we’re tired. According to a study released by the National Sleep Foundation last month “nearly 50 million Americans chronically suffer from sleep problems and disorders that affect their careers, their personal relationships and safety on the roads” (AFP March 3, 2008). In response to our national need, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine issued the following list on how to enjoy a good night’s sleep: follow a consistent bedtime routine; establish a relaxing setting at bedtime; get a full night’s sleep every night; avoid foods or drinks that contain caffeine, as well as any medicine that has a stimulant prior to bedtime; do not bring your worries to bed with you; do not go to bed hungry, but don’t eat a big meal before bedtime either; avoid any rigorous exercise within six hours of your bedtime; make your bedroom quiet, dark and a little bit cool; get up the same time every morning (April 1, 2008 @ www.medicalnewstoday.com).
There’s one more tip the AASM neglected to mention. And this one is a divine remedy that can become the greatest cure for our deepest fatigue. As we share “God’s Party: Facebook” today, join me in discovering the secret to the second greatest gift ever given to the human race—which, of course, is nothing to yawn about.
Is there a soul that doesn’t love a party? How about that surprise your mother threw for you long ago—remember? God bless her—how she pulled it off with holding down a job and keeping you and your siblings clothed and fed we’ll never know. But when you came bursting through the door after school that day, to your wide-eyed wonder the walls and ceiling above your family table were draped with brightly colored crepe paper streamers and festive skinny and fat balloons as far as the eye could see. The table was set with the accoutrements of children, and wafting in the air was the unmistakable mouth-watering hint that your very favorite cake was hiding somewhere, with a frosting decoration that was so totally you! And remember, no sooner were you home than the doorbell began to ring—all your little friends who’d been able (don’t ask me how) to keep the secret and show up on time for that grand and glorious event. It’s party time!
God loves a party, too. Only for his birthday, he’s even more of a Child than we—counting the days until the next celebration. Wait another year? Impossible! Once a month? Still too long a wait. And so God throws a birthday party every single week! You’ve got to admit that you’d have to be a party-lover to plan a calendar like ours—in which every seventh day is declared God’s party for his earth children. The Bible calls it the Sabbath. God simply thinks of it as “a delight” (Isaiah 58:13)! No question, it’s his party for his children.
And why not? If the grand quest of the human journey is to experience our divinely intended “self-actualization” (thank you, Abraham Maslow), then doesn’t it make all the sense in the world that the One who created us for that ultimate discovery would be the same One who invites us to rediscover his destiny through a weekly, deeply personal interaction with him? For that he gave us a Day—but we already knew that.
The bigger question now is How? How can we experience “God’s Party” to the max and reap the phenomenal mental, emotional, physical and spiritual benefits that are promised to those who show up for his Day? Join me in a fresh new “how to” journey for this cyberspace generation—a podcast or telecast journey with five stops along the way: “MySpace,” “Facebook,” “YouTube for YouToo,” “Green Google” and “Yahoo!” Because now that we know the Day, let’s explore the way. It’s party time!
I watched a resurrection last Tuesday night. One of our viewers is a Pentecostal pastor with whom I’ve had the privilege of studying the Bible the last few months. It was my turn to visit his church this week, and no sooner had we sat down in his small sanctuary than he picked up a video and played it, “You need to see this.”
It was an amazing “documentary-like” report from Africa about a pastor who didn’t survive a car accident. In a series of interviews with the pastor’s wife, the attending physician, and the mortician the story emerges of a wife who refused to quit praying, claiming the scriptural line, “Women received their dead raised to life again” (Hebrews 11:35). In fact three to four days after his death (with the embalming process already begun), this woman drove to the mortuary, convinced the mortician to release her husband’s body to her, coffin and all, so that she might take it to a visiting well-known European evangelist for prayer (truth in advertising—the video was produced by the evangelist). There at the large Christian center, crowded for the noon services, the widow approached two church workers with her plea.
On camera these two men describe what took place that afternoon, as the corpse of the deceased pastor was placed inside one of the church class rooms. The wife was praying, the men were wondering what to do next, when suddenly the dead pastor began to breathe. At this point in the video, clips from either a video or cell phone camera are inserted, and you actually witness the deceased “returning” to life, as it were. Soon word spills out and a crowd gathers around the doors of the class room. With photographs spliced into the continuing interviews, the story climaxes with the full resuscitation of the deceased, who at the end of the video gives his testimony.
Skeptical western biases aside, I’ll confess it a fascinating testimonial. Because irrespective of the veracity of this resurrection, we all readily admit that to witness a human return from the dead (after three or four days and embalming) would be the most spectacular experience we can imagine, television lights or not!
Imagine then the utter shock of the eleven disciples of Christ when the Deceased suddenly appeared in their midst! The four gospel accounts ignore human incredulity with the simple narrative of Jesus’ resurrection, as a matter of fact and history. And over two billion Christians this Easter weekend joyfully assent to those four testimonials, “He is risen!”
And because he is, we cling to the resilient hope and promise of a resurrection yet future. With our lists growing of those we love who sleep in death, may the Christ of the empty tomb revive our faith, ignite our hope, compel our love, and infill our lives. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Amen.
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