Fish sauce and faith

My wife is half Filipino – that’s where her dad’s family is from.  And because of this, I, your average American white guy, have been exposed to (and enjoyed!) lots of cultural differences from where I grew up in rural southern Nevada.  One of the biggest differences has been the food.  First off, to say “rice is a staple” is an understatement.  For our entire marriage, we’ve had rice with nearly every dinner meal.  And when we visit her family, there’s rice at every meal.  Every.  Meal.  For example, breakfast is scrambled eggs, a meat, and rice.  That’s just “normal” for Filipinos.

For me growing up, we had rice probably once, every-other week.  So having it every day has been a bit of an adjustment, but overall, I don’t mind.  Other “normal” dietary adjustments have been a little tougher for me, though.  One of them is cooking with a substance called “fish sauce.”  I had never heard of this liquid before, but I was quickly introduced to it – and its pungent smell.  Fish sauce is made from a mixture of fish and salt that is allowed to ferment for up to two years.  Oily fish, like anchovies, are traditionally placed in a barrel with salt and slowly pressed to extract the liquid.  Sounds yummy, doesn’t it?

When cooking with it, the smell intensifies – to the point that our entire kitchen stinks of fish sauce.  At first, I couldn’t stand it.  I’d have to leave the room.  But now, after a couple of decades, I can tolerate the smell – but I still don’t particularly like it.  The dish most commonly cooked in our house that uses this stinky sauce is affectionately called “crunchy meat.”  The recipe calls for cubed pork shoulder steak and its fat cooked in water with a quarter cup of fish sauce – cooked low and slow in an open skillet for a couple of hours.  And you can’t cook it fast, or else it won’t come out right.  You have to go low and slow…but that means smelling the simmering fish sauce for a while.

Why would I even “put up with it” if it smells that bad?  Because I know that the outcome of the dish will be really tasty.  Crunchy meat mixed with rice and steamed broccoli is a fantastic dinner.

I’m not sure that Jesus’ brother James would refer to surviving stinky cooking smells as a “trial,” but I still see a parallel with what he wrote to believers in the first century:

James 1:2-4
Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

When life stinks, it’s easy to forget that there’s more to life beyond the trial of the moment.  As James reminded his readers, the testing of your faith produces endurance – and the only way to develop endurance is to endure hard things.  Learning to have faith and trust God’s promises requires situations we generally don’t want to deal with or choose to go through. 

James isn’t telling us to ignore the difficulties, but rather embrace them for what the outcome will be.  The hard situations that make us strong, mature, and complete are typically “low and slow” processes.  But they are worth going through…and what comes out on the other side is worth looking forward to with great joy.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Clear as mud?

One of my grade school teachers had a habit of asking us this question after she taught a new concept to the class: “Clear as mud?”  And to be honest, none of us knew what she meant.  Finally, one day, after another round of blank stares, she explained that if something was “as clear as mud” then we didn’t understand what she had been teaching.  But if we actually did understand, then she expected our reply to “Clear as mud?” to be “No, clear as water!”

Looking back, it was a little ironic that her question “Clear as mud?” was actually clear-as-mud to us.  We didn’t understand her question that was asking us if we understood her.  We knew all the words she used, but we didn’t grasp the concept she was communicating.  We would never have guessed the response that she was expecting back, either.  It was almost like she was speaking a different language, and she assumed that my classmates and I already knew the lingo.

If we’re honest, we Christians often do the same thing my teacher did.  There is a certain church-y lingo, a bit of Christianese that creeps into our speech.  We throw around phrases like “traveling mercies” or “hedge of protection” or “born again” as if we expect the non-Christians within earshot to understand. 

Just remember to guard your heart when you walk your witness and say your PTLs. 

And if you understood that last sentence, you should also understand what I mean…that someone outside of our church buildings will not get it, but when they hear those foreign phrases, the one thing they will understand is that they are an outsider.  Our words matter, so if we have the opportunity to tell someone about being a Christian, we need to be able to explain it without all the Christianese.  The good news of the gospel can be hard for someone to grasp the first time they hear it, so let’s not burden them with clicky, overused phrases.

We even see an example of this with Jesus, when a Pharisee named Nicodemus came to speak with Him one night.  During their conversation, Jesus tells Nic:

John 3:3
Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Now, you might feel like telling me “See!  Jesus started the “born again” phrase.  Why can’t I use it?”  I’m not advocating that we don’t say born again – our problem comes from our assumption that they will either know exactly what we mean, or that we expect them to feel the weight of these two words “born again” and want to immediately be born-again.

When we look back at Jesus’ question to Nic in John 3:3, we need to recognize that in the verses that follow, Nic doesn’t get it.  He doesn’t understand Jesus’ analogy, even after Jesus provides more explanation.  For Nic, the analogy is clear-as-mud.  So instead of hammering away with the phrase born again, Jesus changes His approach and references an event from Israel’s history, one that Nic would be familiar with:

John 3:15
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.”

Nic would have caught the reference to the bronze snake that God told Moses to create and mount on a pole (Numbers 21:4-9).  If someone was bitten by a poisonous snake and they looked at the bronze snake, they would recover.  Nic would have recognized that by looking at the elevated bronze snake, the bitten Israelite would have believed that God would heal him.  This was Jesus’ point – those who looked to (or believed in) Him would have eternal life, just like those who looked to the bronze snake for healing received it.  With His next sentence, Jesus gave the most clear-as-water statement about how to become a Christian:

John 3:16
For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

That statement is what all the analogies and references were getting at.  When we believe in Jesus for eternal life – He gives it to us.  We don’t have to “ask Jesus into our heart” or “give our life to Christ” or pray certain words in a certain order. 

Let’s keep it as simple as He did: Believe in Jesus for eternal life. 

It’s a free gift, with no strings attached and no muddy phrases.  Instead, let’s be clear as water.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: Misplaced thankfulness

Misplaced thankfulness
Originally posted on November 22, 2018

Today is a day set aside for giving thanks.  It is a wonderful tradition we Americans have carried on for decades (even as Black Friday shopping deals encroach on the day).  Despite all the turmoil going on in the world, we have much to be thankful for.

But I feel the need to issue a warning:

The contents of our thankful sayings will reveal what we hold most dear.  More specifically, which person(s) we hold most dear.  So when grace is said before dinner tonight, or as everyone goes around the table to say what they’re thankful for…listen not just for their words, but listen for their heart.  Above all, we should listen to our own words and consider our motives.

The shift is subtle, but it is so easy for our prayers and thankfulness to become self-centered.  One of Jesus’ parables dealt directly with this:

Luke 18:9
[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else:

Now before we ignore this parable because we think that we don’t fit Jesus’ target audience…let’s think back over our prayers for the last week.  Maybe you’ve prayed only once, or once a day, or even multiple times a day, but what has been the content of those prayers?

How do our prayers compare to these two individuals?

Luke 18:10-14
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself:

‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people – greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying,

‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’

I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other; because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Can you hear the bragging tone of the self-centered Pharisee?  He’s so thankful that he doesn’t do the wrong things and that he always does all the right things.  Certainly, God should be impressed by his actions.  In the Pharisee’s mind, he has earned his place with God by doing everything better than everyone else.

The tax collector doesn’t bother to look at what he has or has not done.  Instead, his focus is entirely on God.  He recognized that God was the foundation of their relationship.  Without God’s participation and mercy, there was no chance for this tax collector – regardless of what good things he does or has.

So let’s avoid being thankful for “things” and “stuff” simply because “things” and “stuff” are enjoyable.  Let’s not be thankful in comparison to other’s situations and life choices.  It’s ok to enjoy blessings and good moments in life; however, the amount of blessings we have is not proof of how close we are with God.

But some evidence of our relationship with God will be heard in our prayers and words of thanks.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

There are only three ways to learn

I can still vividly remember one particular scene from when our oldest son was in his preteen years.  He had just gotten himself in trouble, and he was not interested in talking through the choices he had made.  He only wanted to take his lumps and move on; however, he needed to fully understand what his choice caused and what would be the natural consequences if he didn’t make a course correction with his behavior.  I didn’t go full-blown lecture-mode, but I did quote a proverb and then told him how it applied to his situation.  As I walked away to leave him in his room, he sarcastically quipped behind me, “You know, not everything has to be a life lesson.”

I was more than a little irritated by that point, so as calmly as I could, I replied, “It is if you’re paying attention.”  And then I left him to his isolation, hoping that he’d be able to better process this little skirmish without others around him.

It’s difficult to learn lessons when we’re not open to them.  Assuming we’re ok in our ignorance – or that we’ll at least be able to get by on what we do know – can end up costing us in the long run.  Since time marches on, our ability to adapt is directly connected to our ability to learn…and if someone is trying to help us learn before we make a mistake that doesn’t have a do-over, then it’s in our best interest to pay attention.

This is why we go back to the Scriptures, time and time again: to gain knowledge and wisdom, to learn how God designed this life and how best we can abundantly live it out.  The book of Proverbs is a go-to for me, for that very reason.  King Solomon wrote it to instruct his sons in the way wisdom can be woven into our lives.  It is chock-full of applicable knowledge, and it is readily available for us to use.  Here is a great example from Solomon:

Proverbs 24:30-34
I went by the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of one lacking sense.
Thistles had come up everywhere, weeds covered the ground, and the stone wall was ruined.

I saw, and took it to heart; I looked, and received instruction:

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest,
and your poverty will come like a robber, and your need, like a bandit.

Solomon learned a valuable lesson simply because he was being observant.  When we are open to being taught by life’s examples, we can save ourselves a lot of trouble.  If Solomon’s sons applied the lesson, they would find it less work to maintain their blessings than it would be to mount up the effort needed to completely repair a neglected field or replace an entire stone wall.

When you get right down to it, there are only three ways that we can learn something: by instruction, by observation, or the hard way.  Solomon learned his lesson by observation – he saw someone else’s struggle and recognized that was not a path he should be traveling.  Solomon’s sons had the opportunity to learn by instruction – if they followed the lesson provided, they would also be kept from the trouble that negligence leads to.

The third option was also available – they could ignore Solomon’s lesson and have to experience the hard way first-hand.  The trouble with the hard way is…that it’s hard.  There are many first-hand lessons in life that come with no do-overs or take-backs.  Unfortunately, our hard-headedness and pride often  send us down “The Hard Way” path. 

Again, that’s why we need to return to the Scriptures.  There are lessons to learn, both by instruction and by observation, but only if we are open to them. 

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: If you could ask God for just one thing

What’s the most important request on your heart right now?

If you could ask God for just one thing

Originally posted on June 22, 2017

When I was a child, I would sometimes think about what Heaven would be like.  All I really understood was that Heaven was this great place where we would “be with God forever” and everyone would be happy.  Well, to my little mind, the greatest place I would want to spend long lengths of time in would obviously be chock full of my favorite Saturday morning cartoon toys.  I had it all planned…when I got to Heaven, I was going to ask God for the ENTIRE COLLECTION of He-Man action figures and playsets.  Pure bliss, as far as I was concerned, required a large amount of the best toys I could imagine.

Even as I’ve grown and matured in my understanding of God, Heaven, and Eternity Future, my desire to ask God for “just one thing” hasn’t subsided, but the “one thing” I would ask for has changed.  At various stages of my life, it’s been financial assistance, romantic love, new friends, a new job, a healthy baby, my own health, the health of someone else, a reasonably-comfortable life, and many other things. 

Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but if I’m feeling very spiritually mature, I tell people that when I get to Heaven, the only thing I plan on asking God for is a blue-ray history lesson narrated by Him.  I just want to know why stuff happened like it did and how He worked through it all.

But when you look closely at my progressing list of “just one thing” requests, not much has changed since I was fully enamored by plastic toys.  Even though I’m asking Him about good things for myself or others, I’m still treating God like a cosmic vending machine.  Even if God actually gave me the toys, the money, and the good health…each “one thing” item is still something that I could lose, something that could be taken away from me.

In the second stanza of Psalm 27, David asks God for “one thing”.  His ask puts his life and God in the proper perspective:

Psalm 27:4-6
I have asked one thing from the Lord;
it is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
gazing on the beauty of the Lord
and seeking Him in His temple.
For He will conceal me in His shelter
in the day of adversity;
He will hide me under the cover of His tent;
He will set me high on a rock.
Then my head will be high
above my enemies around me;
I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy.
I will sing and make music to the Lord.

Relationship.  Created Being relating back to his Creator.  That is the most important “one thing” we could ask for, and it will not be taken away from us, not even in the day of adversity.  However, we often let life’s issues and detours distract us from the true aim of our lives – to know God and to be known by Him. 

I think C.S. Lewis summed us up rather well, even if it does sting a little:

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

It’s good to pray about all our requests, cares, and concerns, for God has instructed us to do so (Philippians 4:6).  However, the next time you do ask for something, go for the biggest thing you can ask Him for.  Ask God to give you Himself.  Seek a deeper relationship with Him.  Ask for even a glimpse at His glory.  Ask to be closer to Him, even if that means dealing with enemies and adversity.  God’s beauty and splendor exceeds everything we can see on this earth.

Ask for Him.  He will not disappoint.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

I stepped in it. Literally.

We decorate our house for Halloween with the same “cute monster” theme each year.  The main part of the decoration are the huge pairs of googly eyes that we put into several bushes in the yard.  They are absolutely hilarious looking, and our neighborhood loves them.

The morning after putting them up this year, as I was walking our dog back to our house, I was looking at the googly eyes and chuckling to myself about how they make our bushes seem like they have expressions and goofy personalities.  I was so wrapped up in admiring my own work, that I stepped in another dog’s feces.  This shouldn’t have been a surprise, because it had been on the road for a day or two. I knew it was there, but since I was distracted, I stepped directly in it.  Immediately, I knew what I had done and that it was going to be inconvenient to clean up.

Soon after, my mind went to a story from the life of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.  One night, he had a dream that frightened him.  When he described it to his wise men and court officials, no one could interpret it for him.  He eventually sought out Daniel for help.  Daniel’s news wasn’t good.  He warned the king that judgement from God was coming…on him personally.  God was going to take away his rulership and cause him to go crazy.  The king would abandon his palace and go live with the wild animals for a set number of days, until he recognized that Israel’s God was the true ruler of everything.  Daniel was troubled by this interpretation as well, and he ended with a personal plea for the king to change his ways now so that maybe God would relent.

Perhaps the king took Daniel’s advice and changed his ways, at least for a time because the dream’s interpretation did not transpire right away.  But one year later, it did happen:

Daniel 4:29-32
At the end of twelve months, as he was walking on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon, the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great that I have built to be a royal residence by my vast power and for my majestic glory?”

While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared that the kingdom has departed from you.  You will be driven away from people to live with the wild animals, and you will feed on grass like cattle for seven periods of time, until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler of human kingdoms, and He gives them to anyone He wants.”

And so it happened…for seven periods of time his life of ease and authority were taken away.  He really “stepped in it”, didn’t he?  Although he was warned, he was still so full of himself and self-promoting that God had to intervein directly into his life.  Fortunately for him, his punishment had an expiration:

Daniel 4:34, 36-37
But at the end of those days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity returned to me.  Then I praised the Most High and honored and glorified Him who lives forever…At that time my sanity returned to me, and my majesty and splendor returned to me for the glory of my kingdom.  My advisers and my nobles sought me out, I was reestablished over my kingdom, and even more greatness came to me.  Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of the heavens, because all His works are true and His ways are just.  He is able to humble those who walk in pride.

The last line is the lesson God wanted King Nebuchadnezzar to learn – that He is able to humble those who walk in pride.  To get His point across, God had to take drastic measures in the king’s life.  The king had to lose it all before he realized Who had given it all to him to manage.

How many times in life have we “stepped in it” because we’re too wrapped up in our own stuff? 
How many times has God had to step in and knock us down a peg so we remember where our blessings come from?

To keep the first century believers from falling into the same trap, two New Testament authors (James and Peter) quote Israel’s King Solomon:

1 Peter 5:5
All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

James 4:6, 10
But He gives greater grace.  Therefore he says: “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”…Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

After Nebuchadnezzar’s humble-pie-adventure, perhaps Daniel taught him Solomon’s wisdom.  Nebuchadnezzar’s example encourages us to learn the same lesson now, before our self-centeredness needs God to step in and give correction.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

He who dies with the most toys

When I was a kid, a popular bumper sticker read, “He who dies with the most toys wins”.  The thought process behind it was the natural result of the massive corporate growth of the 80’s and the “greed-is-good” mentality many fell into.  After you make all this money, what should you do with it?  Well, a lot of folks started buying “toys”.  Bigger and bigger toys.  Sports cars, trucks, 4-wheelers, boats, jewelry, vacation homes, bigger TVs, the latest electronics…anything that was for their own enjoyment and would also broadcast that they had the wealth to pull it off.  We even had a TV show about the ultra-rich called “Lifestyles of the rich and famous”.

Now, when “He who dies with the most toys” actually dies…his stuff is still here.  And something needs to be done with it.  I’ve never dealt with inheritance situations, but I know several people who have.  Many of them describe the process as rather touchy – there are all the emotions that come with a loss, but there’s also a tension between family members about how to handle the stuff left behind.

This is not a new tension.  In fact, in the middle of a teaching session with His disciples in front of a large crowd, someone interrupted Jesus, asking Him to help sort out a family inheritance issue:

Luke 12:13
Someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

This person wanted Jesus to play the part of the community magistrate and mandate a solution with his brother.  Jesus is a popular teacher and this is in a public forum, so I can understand the reason why he would have asked.  However, Jesus was not interested in stepping into this family dispute:

Luke 12:14-15
“Friend,” He said to him, “who appointed me a judge or arbitrator over you?”  He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.

That’s a great lesson the crowd received.  Family drama and individual attitudes can be hard to deal with, but dividing up a parent’s possessions after their death is incredibly stressful.  In their hurt and pain, people often get greedy with their potential ownership of property, and it can show up in a variety of different ways – looking for revenge, controlling another person or situation, or by finding validation through how much stuff they own.  Notice Jesus’ warning was to be on guard against *all* greed.

Since He answered the person’s question, Jesus could have left it there and got back to teaching what He had planned to talk about.  Instead, Jesus continued with a parable story to help them understand just how dangerous greed can be:

Luke 12:16-20
Then He told them a parable:

A rich man’s land was very productive.
He thought to
himself, “What should
I do, since
I don’t have anywhere to store
my crops?

I will do this,”
he said.
“I’ll tear down
my barns and build bigger ones and store all
my grain and
my goods there.  Then
I’ll say to
myself,
‘You have many goods stored up for many years.
Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy
yourself.’”

“But God said to him, ‘You fool!  This very night your life is demanded of you.  And the things you have prepared – whose will they be?’

Twelve times, this rich man referred to himself as he thought through what to do with his abundance.  Zero thoughts about other people and any needs he could meet.  Zero thoughts about God and how He expected him to manage the things he possessed.

Then Jesus closes out his teaching on greed with this statement:

Luke 12:21
“That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Although a person’s greed can be expressed in a variety of ways, all greed comes down to a heart-level problem – selfishness.  Jesus did not say it was wrong for the man to be rich.  Jesus didn’t say that it was wrong for him to make plans on how to handle his abundance.  Where the rich man went wrong was that he saw his abundance as treasure to be stored up for himself.  He wanted that life of ease.  His end game was a life where he could take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy himself.  But Jesus said the rich man’s plan was severely flawed.

That can sting a little, can’t it?  We make plans for retirement – but what, exactly, are we planning on retiring to?  Some people want to golf all day, every day.  Some want to travel.  Most of us just envision life being easier without having to do this pesky “work thing” each week.  All those thoughts are focused on one person – ourselves.

Since retirement is a ways off for most of us, perhaps we should consider a closer example: We daydream all week about our weekend plans, which almost always revolve around us or, at most, our immediate family.  When was the last time we planned some of “our” weekend time to intentionally help others?  Do we make plans for how to spend “our” money with thoughts of how God would desire us to?

Within a few years of seeing the “He who dies with the most toys wins” bumper sticker, I saw another  bumper sticker in response.  Not to be outdone, many Christians put this on their cars: “He who dies with the most toys still dies”.  The rich man in Jesus’ parable story was not able to fully experience the richness of his abundance…because he was focused on himself.  The point from the story is that we are rich toward God when we are rich toward others.  We don’t know when our time on earth is done, so let’s make sure we’re using our abundance the way God would want us to…and not giving in to all forms of greed as we squabble with our brothers and sisters.  Because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Finding hope as the world grows dark

The world news headlines are crazy right now, aren’t they?

Israel is at war with Hamas.  Hostages have been taken.  No one knows if other countries are going to get involved or if it’s all just political posturing.  Protests are happening around the world and people are taking sides, some pro-Palestinian, some pro-Israel.  Everything around the situation is tense.

In the US, Republicans and Democrats can’t get along.  Shocking, right?  But over the last few years, party in-fighting is become just as vicious as the fights that happen between the two major parties.  There appears to be no end in sight for this kind of behavior.

AI is going to take over the planet in the next 10 years.  No one knows how, outside of jokes and memes, but the serious thinkers are quite scared of the potential disruption to nearly every industry.  And let’s not talk about what will happen when countries start using AI against their enemies.

Homelessness is reaching peak crisis levels in several major US cities.  No solution is perfect or simple, and governments who stall will only allow the situation to worsen.  Drugs, crime, mental illnesses, and a variety of other tough topics make the homeless crisis a complicated and disheartening predicament.

Those are just four topics I quickly pulled off of a news app on my phone.  There are plenty more stories to choose from.  National stories, local stories, personal stories…the more we look at the world around us, the harder it seems to find answers.  The more we read or watch the news, the darker the world becomes.  It’s difficult to think through any one of these problems, but to have all of them happening all at once?  Totally overwhelming.

The Sunday School response to all these situations would be to simply say, “Jesus is the answer!” And while many would roll their eyes, scoff at the suggestion, or question how Jesus would deal with the complex issues of our times…what if a person who lived through similarly tough times was making that claim, would it change our response?

I’d like us to consider the life of the apostle John.  He wrote 5 of the books in the New Testament – one gospel, three letters, and the book of Revelation.  John's gospel was likely one of the last books of the Bible to be written. Many scholars date John writing it in the late 1st century, even into the early 90's. Why is that significant? Because by that time, the world had changed a lot since John was following Jesus as a teenager in the early 30's. He lived through the Christian persecution primarily by the Jews in the 40's and 50's, but persecution had become common among the rest of the non-Jewish world as well.  He saw Jerusalem destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD and his people scattered among the nations.  Roman politics would make our current political issues look like playground disputes.  During John’s lifetime, the Roman emperor has changed every 10 years or so, with each one bringing significant fluctuations in personality, rulership, and attitude towards Christians.  Rome was a very pagan country and did not allow any challenge to the emperor’s rule.  On top of all of this, Rome as a country and as a governing body has only gotten stronger during John’s lifetime…and John still writes:

John 1:4-5
In [Jesus] was life, and that life was the light of men.  That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.

That's a lot of hope and trust right there. Regardless of the growing darkness John has witnessed, he still points to the light that was not overcome.  In this light, John found life, and he shared it with anyone he could. 

Did John stop the “evil empire”?  No.  In fact, he was exiled at one point.
Did John put an end to persecution? No.  He experienced it himself.
Did John see the restoration of his home nation? No.  Israel was decimated during his life.

However, despite all this darkness, John insists that Jesus shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome Him. 

When we check out the news and look at the problems in our world today, it’s easy to get caught up in finding a human-driven solution to try and fix everything.  It may be counter-intuitive, but following John’s example will bring us towards real resolutions.  John focused on the light, not the darkness.  This doesn’t mean he just fixated on positive, fluffy thoughts and ignored everything else.  His statement above doesn’t allow that.  Instead, John recognized that the light came from the life of Jesus.   

The life of Jesus isn’t something we can simply imitate…we can’t do that in and of ourselves.  However, Jesus will give us His eternal life when we believe in Him for it.  A little later in his gospel, John records this promise of Jesus:

John 3:16
For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

No need to imitate what God freely offers for us to possess.  Believe in Jesus for eternal life, and He gives it to you – it’s as simple as that.  And when you have that eternal life, you can be the same kind of light that Jesus is in the darkness.  The darkness is still there, but we won’t be overcome by it.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Our foolish dog

Our previous dog died in 2016 due to old age/kidney failure.  For three years, we enjoyed the dog-free life of no hair to clean up, no extra food to buy, and going on a trip without having to plan (and pay) for someone to feed the dog.

That all changed in 2019, when we met a rescue puppy named Blue.  He suckered us in with his big blue eyes, super soft fur, playful hops, and cuddles.  He immediately bonded with each of us, and we found that he shows his love by licking.  And licking.  And licking some more.  But at least the drools only happen when he smells peanut butter in the air.

He is a dog who needs his exercise, so we take him on walks twice a day.  He loves to sniff everything and, when he was little, taste-test most things.  Goose poop and cigarette butts were especially tempting, for whatever reason.  It took a lot to teach him to not go after those things, but eventually he learned to ignore them.  However, we still have to keep an eye out, just in case there is some people-food on the road, perhaps dropped by a kid at their bus stop or by a contractor crew during their lunch break.

One evening recently, we were walking and Blue started to quickly munch something.  I got him to drop it, discovering it was the top of a chicken leg bone.  He didn’t have it in his mouth for more than 15 seconds, and we quickly moved along to continue our walk.  We turned on to a new street and a couple houses down, he started to heave.  Not just little burps, but the gut-pumping kind…and what he brought back up was nasty looking.  Of course, he wanted to check out what he just vomited and had to be pulled away.  I’ll spare you the detailed description, but after he finished, I took him home to get some water.

The next day during our morning walk, he went after the same chicken bone piece again.  I was better prepared to stop him this time, and he had it for only a few seconds before spitting it out.  However, within minutes, he was heaving again.  After clearing his stomach for a second time in about 12 hours, I took him back home.

For the next two or three walks, I was hyper-vigilant when we would pass by the spot where he found the chicken bone.  Fortunately, the bone was gone – presumably because another animal took it.  However, Blue would still get excited each time we passed there and aggressively sniffed around, looking for it.  Even though this nasty food had caused him to throw up twice, there he was, still hoping to find more of it to eat.  As I quickly guided him past this spot each time, I was reminded of this oft-quoted proverb:

Proverbs 26:11
As a dog returns to its vomit,
so also a fool repeats his foolishness.

Typically when I hear this proverb, the one quoting it is talking about their frustrations with someone else.  “Oh we tried to help them, but you know, as a dog returns to its vomit…” Any continued struggle someone else has with relationships, addictions, or bad habits can have this proverb thrown their direction.  

But after dealing with my dog and thinking of the proverb, I had another realization: Not only did I need to steer Blue away from eating what he had regurgitated, but I also had to pull him away from the thing that was causing him to get sick.  Since his vomiting did not occur immediately after eating the chicken bone, it’s entirely possible that his doggie-mind wasn’t making the correlation.  To him, the enticing chicken and the delayed vomiting were not related.

So I began to wonder if there’s anything in my own life where I’m missing the connection.  Is there anything I’m doing – a repeated action or thought process – that impacts my health or my relationships with others, and I’m simply not aware of it?  Nothing immediately came to mind, so I prayed a dangerous prayer:

God, show me where I’m wrong or have a habit that is negatively impacting my life.  I don’t want my foolishness to impact other people or reflect badly on You.  Please show me what needs to change and what steps I can take next.

I call it a “dangerous prayer” because I don’t know what God will show me.  He might reveal something that seems small and easy to manage…but it could also be something I’m not expecting that I will have to reframe my thinking on.  Vulnerability before God can feel “dangerous” and “scary,” but there is precedent for praying this way.  David once prayed:

Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.
See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.

I challenge you to pray the same way.  Ask God to show you what needs correcting in your life.  Maybe you can easily identify what vomit you keep coming back to.  Or maybe you don’t see what is causing the vomit spots in your life.  Talk to God about it…and when He shows you the way out, trust Him to lead you through those next steps.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

This may be why God hasn’t answered

Have you ever tried to bargain with God?  What were you asking for?  What did you offer?

Common things we ask for:
Removal from a difficult circumstance
Safety, security
Financial success
Healing from illness
A specific person to be our spouse

Common things we offer:
We’ll go to church every week
We’ll give money to the church or to the poor
We’ll never ask for anything again
Promise to stop swearing or smoking or drinking, etc.

The ancient Israelites often took the same approach when they wanted something from God.  One of the ways they would “bargain” is by instituting a fast on a particular day of the week.  Very religious Israelites would fast on two separate days each week.  A “fast” is where you give up something, typically food, for a period of time.  They intended to get God’s attention and favor based upon them denying themselves food, and doing this as a sacrifice to God.  However, they weren’t getting the results they wanted:

Isaiah 58:3
“Why have we fasted, but you have not seen?
We have denied ourselves, but you haven’t noticed!”

In Israel’s context, the feelings of hunger felt throughout the day were supposed to remind them of their need for God.  Just as the body relies on a daily intake of food, they should also rely on a daily intake of God.  While they went through with the sacrificial activities of the fast, God took issue with how the Israelites were treating the rest of their day:

Isaiah 58:3-5
“Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast, and oppress all your workers.  You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist.  You cannot fast as you do today, hoping to make your voice heard on high.  Will the fast I choose [to respond positively to] be like this: A day for a person to deny himself, to bow his head like a reed, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes?”

For God, the purpose of a fast wasn’t for someone to just go through the motions of denying themselves and acting religious.  Notice that their fast was self-focused: a person denies himself, bows his head, spreads out sackcloth and ashes.  Instead, the kind of sacrifice God was looking for from those who fast included other people:

Isaiah 58:6-7
“Isn’t this the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness,
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke? 

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him,
and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?”

It’s as if God is saying, “You want to deny yourselves, out of reverence to Me?  Then deny your claim on your time and help rescue other people from their chains and oppression.  Don’t just deny yourself the food in your house, but instead give it away to someone who doesn’t have any.  Give the space in your home, give away your clothes, and give love to your family.”

God doesn’t want religious robots.  If He wanted puppets, then He would have created them.  God doesn’t want self-centered sacrifices, either. 

But if…IF…the Israelites were to sacrificially fast the way God described, then this is how He promised to respond:

Isaiah 58:8-12
“Then your light will appear like the dawn, and your recovery will come quickly.
Your righteousness will go before you, and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.
At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer,
when you cry out, He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you get rid of the yoke among you, the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,
and if you offer yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday.

The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones.
You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose water never runs dry.
Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the foundations laid long ago,
you will be called the repairer of broken walls, the restorer of streets where people live.”

What would it be like to have a reputation that reads like that???
What would it be like to have a relationship with God like that???

There are so many incredible benefits listed here, but there’s a condition in the middle of the section that shouldn’t be missed – if you offer yourself to others.  Not “sit in a church pew.”  Not “throw a few more dollars in the offering bucket.”  Not “try harder to avoid doing bad habits.”  Not making promises to God you probably won’t keep.

Maybe you’ve prayed.  Maybe you’ve promised.  Maybe God is looking for a different sacrifice before moving in your life…and it starts with us moving in the lives of those around us.

Keep Pressing,
Ken