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Hold Tight the Kingdom

There are many unseen but real threats, but there are also unseen but real promises, and he who makes them says, “Behold, I am coming soon”
(Revelation 22:12).
Stuart McAllister  August 6, 2009 Slice of Infinity devotional from Ravi Zacharias International Ministries

What kinds of threats are unseen? Unseen in the sense that they are insidious, infiltrating our thinking without our conscious awareness? I think about American entitlement–the sense that we deserve the high standard of living we've enjoyed for the past fifty years. In one sense, we do, because we, as a culture, have worked hard and been full of energy and invention and productivity.

In another sense, though, there is the unfairness of hogging the resources of the world. That some of us cook on stoves while others cook on a ground fire is wrong. It is the way the world has been since the Fall, so it seems normal to us. Yes, the issues are enormous and political and complex, but it's still wrong. Entitlement threatens justice.

What real promises are we ignoring as we attempt to hold on to our materialism? I want to hold things lightly. I certainly enjoy cooking on my Kenmore stove rather than a wood fire in my backyard. And yet, why do I have that privilege while so many work much harder to prepare food for their children?

The lighter my grasp on this world's privileges, the tighter my grasp on what's coming. Recently, as Jerry and I admired Lake Michigan waterfront mansions, I said to him,

"If I did not believe in the Kingdom, I'd be jealous. I'd want to work for a cottage by the sea."

It is getting more and more real to me that the Kingdom both has come and is coming to this earth. That what God has in mind, that which is beyond our imagination, is this life, made new. (Isaiah 65:17) This life, where we all live in mansions by the sea. This life, fully submitted to our good and faithful Father. For his glory and our joy.

Maranatha, Jesus. Come. In your time, in your way, in accord with your purposes. Amen.


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How the Mighty Have Fallen

Yahoo News reports on Bernie Madoff's court appearance:  "In court Thursday, Madoff — a dapper figure, dressed in a charcoal-gray
suit, with swept-back, wavy gray hair — said he began the scheme during
the last recession, when 'I felt compelled to satisfy my clients'
expectations, at any cost.' He did not put his investors' money into
the market, as he claimed. Instead, it was a Ponzi scheme, or a pyramid, in which early investors are paid off with money taken in from later ones.

'When I began the Ponzi scheme I believed it would end shortly and I
would be able to extricate myself and my clients from the scheme,' he
said. 'However, this proved difficult, and ultimately impossible, and
as the years went by I realized that my arrest and this day would
inevitably come.'"

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen," soon-to-be-king David proclaims three times in the first chapter of 2 Samuel, referring to King Saul's death. Mr. Madoff and Saul had some characteristics in common. Fear of people, most notably. Madoff "felt compelled" to give his clients what they demanded. Saul was "afraid of the people" (1Samual 15:24) and thereby disobeyed God's clear command to utterly destroy an enemy, including all their livestock.

Saul compounded his disobedience by insisting to the priest, Samuel, that the sheep Saul had spared were to be sacrificed to Yahweh. But Saul replied, "To obey is better than sacrifice." (1Samuel 15:22)

How often our disobedience is inspired by our fear of people. We want to please others rather than God. We step just a bit out of bounds and think we can pull ourselves back when we need to. We'll ask for forgiveness afterwards.

We may not be the "mighty," but we, too, can fall. Unlike Mr. Madoff, we may not take so many down with us. We may not impact a nation, like Saul's disobedience. But people are watching us. Our children, our church friends, our neighbors, even random people in the world. And in this age of social networking, our impact can extend farther than we might imagine.

Obedience matters. It matters that we stay inside the boundaries God has drawn. We choose to believe honesty wins over deception. We choose to believe obedience is better than asking forgiveness. We work towards faithfulness in every area. Disobedience is shaky ground. Just look at Saul or ask Mr. Madoff.

Father, we need your enabling to obey. May we see that obedience to your commands leads to a stable life.

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A Network of Life Savers

"By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35

In the seventies, we used to sing a song, "They will know we are Christians by our love." "We will work with each other, we will work hand in hand." We always sang it after a monthly potluck dinner,holding hands around a large room. Usually in the basement of a local church, a group of mixed race and sometimes mixed up people held hands and affirmed our essential fellowship. Fellowship across denominational and racial boundaries and those on the social margins knew they were welcome, too.

After a few years, our life filled up with other activities and we stopped going. But the group that sponsored those potlucks in the church basements has not stopped. Empty Tomb's long-time founders and directors, John and Sylvia Ronsvalle, have expanded their reach to the world.

They carry the dying children of the world, the "least of these," in their hearts. Solid visionaries, they are nurturing what they call a "Discipleship Tree." The Tree is a network of givers, across denominations, supporting a network of life savers without regard to denomination.

Our enemy, Satan, wins when Christians stay splintered. Joining in the Discipleship Tree, which costs $48/year, is an opportunity to hold hands together against his battering ram.

There's just one catch. Signup is a commitment to sign up three more. A commitment to ask three other Christians to stand with you, regardless of denomination, next to Jesus, who stands with the "least of these."

Want to know more?  Discipleship Tree Homepage

Or contact the Ronsvalles' Project Coordinator.
Tell her I sent you.

And read this blog from a couple in Congo who recently received a new truck with help from Discipleship Tree:
Discipleship Tree Bears Fruit

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A Culture of Greed

"My father told me that (Robert) Lehman demanded-and received-assurance before deals were struck that the best interests of all those investing in companies underwritten by Lehman Bros. were thoroughly considered. if there were any doubt whatsoever about the soundness of the investment, he would walk away, regardless of the potential profits." Walt Gardner, writing in the September 25, 2008 edition of USA Today, is describing his father's experience in the early days of Lehman Bros.. Morris Gardner worked for the company for fifty years, retiring in 1968 as comptroller.

If Lehman Bros., and the other failing financial institutions, had continued to follow that ethic, much current and future suffering would have been averted. How have we fallen so far, from a culture of caring for everyone’s best interest to a culture of caring only for our own? "Greed is, for lack of a better word, good", Gordon Gekko, famously said in the movie, Wall Street. He was pretty convincing. But we are now seeing the limits to that philosophy of self-interest.

The Bible says to give, and it will be given to you, Love others as you love yourself. Look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others.

We would live in a far different culture if everyone did business like Mr. Lehman, who must have had some familiarity with these Judeo-Christian ethics, rather than Mr. Gekko.

Jesus, as we endure the fallout from our culture of greed, please give us ears to hear your words of caring for each other.

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