Christianity | Ain't Complicated

Asking vs Demanding

Which will get you farther in life?

The American Center for Law and Justice has sent a letter to Lane Community College in Eugene, Ore., demanding that it rehire Barry Sommer and reinstate his course “What is Islam?” or face legal action.

The noncredit course was cleared by LCC officials and had been posted for registration on Dec. 1. Using the Quran as one of its textbooks, the course was designed to help students better understand the Islamic doctrine so they could be better informed to grasp the issues in news on Islam, Muslims and the Middle East.

But shortly after Sommer appeared on a local news broadcast promoting the course, CAIR Council on American-Islamic Relations e-mailed LCC and asked for the course to be cut. The group questioned Sommer’s qualifications to teach the course, saying he is president of the local chapter of Act! for America, which it has accused of being anti-Islamic.

Source: Legal Group Demands Community College Reinstate Canceled Islam Class

ACLJ “demanded” (I count four uses of the term or derivatives in the entire piece).

CAIR “asked.”

Lesson: You get farther by asking than by demanding.

Disclaimer: The lesson has plenty of exceptions and exemptions.

Imperfect Good Samaritan

Of course all these cases were more complex than a brief mention can convey. And of course US foreign policy, under presidents from Nixon to Obama, has accomplished enormous good in the world — including, at times, the saving of many lives.

Yet the good America has done is dwarfed by the good America could have done. Too often we have been willing to disregard unspeakable evil in the mistaken belief that preventing atrocities is not “an American concern.” Kissinger’s words to Nixon that day in 1973 were repellent. The mindset behind them has been all too common.

Those are the closing two paragraphs of Yes, genocide is ‘an American concern’ by Jeff Jacoby.

I’m wondering, though, what lessons the article has for me as a Christian — lessons in responding to the needs of those who are outside my various circles and thus don’t touch or affect me directly.

I Used to Be Twenty-Six

a lesson learned in the second batch of twenty-six years

I look back twenty-six years to when I was twenty-six years old. I was mature for my age then. As I close in on the end of my second batch of twenty-six, I think I’m now less mature for my age. But now I got sidetracked from the purpose of this post.

When I reached my twenty-sixth birthday…

I had been a husband for five years.
We had two children — LaVay (3) and Russell (close to 1).
I was just into my fifth year of teaching high school at our church school.
I had just begun my second year as principal at that school.
It had been about 2.5 years since we had temporarily “retired” as Mexico missionaries.
I didn’t own a house, because I was trying to lay up treasures in heaven.

Over the next eight years, I added more to My Accomplishments.

Alas, I also added to My Pride, at least on the inside.

But inside or out, that affliction portends bad things to come. Always.

“…God resisteth the proud…” (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).

“When pride cometh, then cometh shame…” (Proverbs 11:2).

Since the bad harvest of pride often doesn’t come right away, we get careless and carefree with pride.

Then we pay the price.

Now, twenty-six years later and having tasted its bitter fruit, do I still struggle with pride?

Sure. But now I recognize the struggle (most of the time). And I engage the battle (more of the time).

I loathe pride. And in a healthy way (I think), I fear pride.

When I find myself embracing it, I try to come to my senses and push it away in repentance.

I have experienced pride’s wrecking ball.

“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).

“Before destruction the heart of man is haughty…” (Proverbs 18:12).

“A man’s pride shall bring him low…” (Proverbs 29:23).

The proud He knoweth afar off (Psalm 138:6)

So many of My Accomplishments have gone to nothing. And so many of My Opportunities have evaporated.

What a waste!

Yup, I have paid dearly, though not yet fully.

Would I like a do-over? In a sense, my answer really doesn’t matter. The stark reality is that I don’t get to try again. That part of my life is gone, gone, gone.

Maybe God will give me an opportunity to do better tomorrow.

I hope so.

If He does, may I allow His Spirit to continue to craft in me in the mind of Christ so that the Father may see in me at least a faint image of His Son.

Attention, Mennonites!

Thanks to Google Alerts, I came across a blog post this morning that confirms the obvious to me: People notice our faces. (And they read our faces.)

I’ve thought many times while out among The General Public, What are people reading in my face?

I wonder that as a regular human.

And as a child of God.

And as a Mennonite.

When people see my face, do they see anger, distress, impatience, covetousness, lust, peace, joy, tranquility, happiness, contempt, fretfulness, coldness, suspicion, scorn, Jesus?

What do they see?

What do I want them to see?

What does God want them to see?

Hmmm. This sounds like Attention, Christians!

Well, to help you chew on that, chew on this:

The Mennonites I encountered growing up always aroused my curiosity. My observations made me sure they must be a humorless, fearful people. Being a bit shy myself which probably means I thought too much of myself, I didn’t try to initiate conversations with them. In the Bi-Mart on River Road they would catch me watching them. I would smile, they would smile back. Their facial expressions seemed so serious, even fearful, and I presumed anxious to get back to their safe little communities. At least, that’s how I perceived them.

I liked it that the girls were always in dresses, but I thought it odd that they wore sneakers with skirts. I suppose I would have ignored that if they had acted like they were more comfortable standing next to us in the check-out line. I knew their clothing was related to their faith, and I admired them for that. But I wondered, if they know God, why do they seem so depressed?

[…]

Had I been judging an entire community by a small handful of people who may be just having a bad day, or something?

Ouch! 😥

Read Kathy’s full post here: Hearing Heart Blog: Has the Mennonite Faith Changed, Or Have I? (Thank you, Mrs. Davis!)

So I ask again, Can the world see Jesus when they look at your life? And my face?

Billions Without Bibles

Two dollars a day and no Bible. And without the ability to read one anyway. And how many of them have more joy than I do? So read this info and recount the blessings you have.

Two dollars a day and no Bible. And without the ability to read one anyway.

And how many of them have more joy than I do?

So read this info and recount the blessings you have.

Seven billion people in the world in two years

Half the world lives on less than $2 a day. Right now, that’s more than three billion people, but new research suggests the population will hit the seven billion mark within the next two years.

Researchers with the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) also found that the least developed regions, like Africa, Asia and Latin America, are projected to double in population by 2050. PRB, one of the most trusted sources for world population information, recently released these statistics in their 2009 World Population Data Sheet.

International Director for Faith Comes By Hearing Morgan Jackson said that these new figures are troubling because billions of people may never hear the message of hope and truth in God’s Word.

“Already, the world’s poorest of the poor are cut off from the Bible,” said Jackson. “Half of the world’s people are illiterate and too poor to afford a Bible. Five of six African believers will never own their own Bible. And when people don’t have Scripture in a format they can use and understand, the results can be devastating to villages and whole countries.”

[…]

“Small bits of Scripture may be the only truth they have. They just don’t know any different,” said Jackson.

“But modern technology is helping overcome centuries-old barriers of poverty, distance, language, illiteracy, and culture. For the first time in history, we have the tools to reach every person in the world with the Word of God — no matter where they are,” said Jackson.

One of these tools is the Proclaimer, a self-powered audio player that can be used in the most remote and rugged locations. The Proclaimer’s embedded microchip is pre-loaded with the Audio Drama New Testament in the heart languages of the world. Indigenous believers take these life-changing Audio Bibles into their villages and towns and start listening groups. Villagers in groups up to 300 gather around to listen and then discuss what they’ve heard. By interacting with the Word of God, people come to know and follow the God of the Bible.

Currently, New Testament recordings in more than 397 languages are being used in Bible listening programs in 150 countries.

Learn more about The Proclaimer.

I’m thankful to know how to read. In two languages. And to have Bibles in both. And to earn far more than two dollars a day.

Disclaimer: It appears the Mission Network News article comes from a post at the Faith Comes by Hearing site.

Just Words

They're evidence. Make them count for good!

I stared. 😯

I was incredulous at the email. It was bad as a personal email. But sent to a multi-recipient list?!

Wow! Somebody was having a bad day! 🙁

Not only had the email departed the sender’s mind ahead of any grace and tact, it projected itself as mind-bogglingly dumb. I don’t mean that unkindly or disrespectfully. I’m simply saying its cargo excluded basic common sense.

The person who sent it issued a follow-up email 38 minutes later. It was an apology.

Very good! God bless him for his honesty, humility, and integrity.

But guess which email is more likely to be remembered?

Yeah. Too bad.

Words. Just words. Not sticks and stones, you know. But what dismay they can cause.

Words. Just words. Too often I want to excuse mine. And attack the other guy’s (if I deem them ill-advised or outright bad).

Words. Just words. But God doesn’t see the matter so lightly.

He will judge me by my words.

And by how they line up with His Word.

So….

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart,
be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD,
my strength, and my redeemer.”
Psalm 19:14

Full of sweet, nourishing honey — not stinging bees!

This whole deal was one of those wretched teachable moments (can we come up with a different term already?).

The lesson above leaps forward as Number One (or more).

Other lessons?

Be slow to react to email. Come to think of it. Don’t react.
Be slow. There’s no rush. Especially if you’re having a trying day.
Email is forwardable. How far will yours go? That may not matter to you now, but it likely will in a day or two. Or in a minute or two. Or less.
Email lists have the added danger of being archived on the Web “forever”!

There. I don’t want to give them all. What other lessons do you see?

This was to post last evening…but I didn’t get back to my computer and the Internet in time.

May a Christian Do That?

What if you weren’t a Christian?

I asked that question in my most recent devotional (Thoughts for the Week) which I posted on July 14, 2009. (I first asked it some 17 years ago when I wrote it for publication as part of the March 31, 1993, lesson in Christian Light Publication‘s youth Sunday School quarterly.)

Last week, though, I got the following responses via email: Read it all