I think some of you can relate to this. Lois & I have often found over the course of years that in our daily devotional lives there are days when a daily meditation and/or scripture just nails a current issue that is troubling either or both of us. It's uncanny--almost as if God has something to do with it! And so it happened to me today during my quiet time. A trifecta! (I sincerely hope I used that word correctly. If not, I apologize IF I offended you.)
If there's one thing that has become a consistently significant part of my "sabbatical," it's been my daily quiet time . . . a part of each day, early in the morning, soon after I get up each day, devoted to devotion, meditation, scripture, & prayer. At first it was a chore, & my struggle w/OCD has made it hard to keep this from being a ritualistic exercise. But it has become a deeply meaningful part of my experience, & through it I believe I've become closer to God. I do NOT believe that it has brought ME closer to God than it has brought YOU closer to God.
- During my quiet time each day I generally "warm up" by going on-line to check-out the daily devotion posted @ "Slice of Infinity," published by Ravi Zacharias International. It speaks to the side of me that Christian apologetics appeals to, & I highly recommend it.
- Next I check out the Lutheran Hour Ministry devotion, also posted on-line, almost always written by Rev. Ken Klaus. It is a solid, "meat-&-potatoes," LCMS, Law & Gospel, meditation, firmly rooted in a Lutheran understanding of scripture.
- Eventually, I work my way to a book I started using on July 1, 2014, entitled, A Year through the Old Testament," written by Jeffrey Pulse. For every day of the year it contains Psalms, one or more OT readings & one or more NT readings. It's keyed to the Church year, it's published by Concordia Publishing House, so you know that it is also thoroughly grounded in Lutheran theology. (It seems as if I can't escape my LCMS roots. I make no apologies for that.)
All three of these devotional resources spoke to me earlier last week & helped quiet some of the spiritual turmoil that's been disturbing me. I offer these excerpts & I reactions for what they are worth. My prayer is that the wisdom of God's Word & these wise people, NOT the wisdom of Paul Leckband, speaks to you.
(From "Gaps," a devotion written by Margaret Manning Skull for A Slice of Infinity, the 7/14/15 devotion published on-line by Ravi Zacharias International Ministries):
"Jesus acknowledged that His ministry would be disruptive, & even be misunderstood. In responding to John [the Baptist's] doubts, Jesus said, 'Blessed is the one who keeps from stumbling over Me' (Matt 11:6). Like John before us, those who seek to follow Jesus often stumble over Him. The gaps between what we believe & what we experience create fissures in faith into which we fall . . . Might mining the gaps we experience hold the treasure of new insights & the beauty of a more faithful devotion if we are willing to let go of 'comfortable assumptions' & cherished expectations? If so, then might all the faithful dig deep & find that what is precious & most valuable is often found in the fissures of dissonance."
Here's my take.
- The danger of Christian apologetics is always falling in love with our own human reasoning & intellect to the extent that we let it override the wisdom of Jesus. And where is the wisdom of Jesus to be found? In His own words which are to be found & pondered & pounded into us through reading & re-reading & meditating over & praying over Holy Scripture. Above all this calls for--& this is hard for me--NOT approaching Scripture with my own "comfortable assumptions & cherished expectations."
- At first glance it seems to ME that Jesus would want everyone to be happy, i.e., if marrying my gay lover would make me happy, wouldn't Jesus approve of gay marriage? Does anything in Scripture point to Jesus wishing that kind of earthly happiness upon us? I see nowhere in Scripture--NOWHERE--where God speaks of homosexual sex as anything but immoral. (He condemns plenty of other forms of immoral sex as well, by the way.)
- At first glance it seems to me that Jesus would want everyone to be saved. Doesn't the Bible even say that? "God would have all men to be saved & to come to the knowledge of the truth," right? But Jesus also declared unequivocally, "I am the WAY, the TRUTH, & the LIFE. NO ONE comes to the Father EXCEPT BY ME." When we buy into the world's & Satan's lie that we all worship the same God, we "stumble over Jesus" & "fall into a fissure of faith."
(From "Hanging in There," written by Rev. Ken Klaus for the 7/14/15 devotion published on-line by Lutheran Hour Ministries):
" . . . God expects His people to hang in there. He wants His people to hang in there when the response is less than we had wanted. He wants us to hang in there when the crowds aren't as overflowing as we had hoped. He wants us to hang in there even though the offering plates are not always filled to overflowing. He wants us to hang in there & keep teaching even if some of our class seems to turn a deaf ear. He wants us to hang in there because faithful men & women are the ones the Holy Spirit uses to share the Gospel, with a lost world & a wandering generation. We hang in there because this world still needs to know: God so loved the world that He gave His only Son (see John 3:16)." (From "Hanging in There," Lutheran Hour Ministries devotion written by Rev. Ken Klaus & published on-line, 7/14/15)
Once again, my take . . .
It troubles me greatly that if we oppose gay marriage, if we oppose the gay lifestyle, we are haters, and we need to shut up. I honestly can't think of a more unloving thing to do.
Wait a minute . . . Yes, I can. Climbing on top of a soapbox & screaming that "fags" are going to hell & our military personnel are dying in battle because of our country's embracing of gay rights, well, I think that may be a more unloving thing to do.
- We are warned not to judge others lest we be judged by the same measure. I believe that means we are NOT to judge what's in a person's heart. That's why it always troubles me to hear or read people claim that our president is not a Christian.
- On the other hand, I believe we are called to hold others accountable for ungodly words & actions. We are called to love others, not just as ourselves, but as Jesus' loves us. Think of the people whom Jesus came to save. Yet He didn't condone their lifestyles.
- Staying silent in the face of ungodly behavior, especially by Christian brothers & sisters, is giving our tacit approval to lifestyles that is interfering with their relationship with the Savior.
Ultimately God loved the world & the sinful people in it so much that He gave His one & only Son to die for the sins of those people, including sinful you & sinful me. That would be regardless of their sins, whether it be homosexual behavior or otherwise. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus made it crystal clear.
- Murder is absolutely wrong, but hating someone is as sinful as murder.
- Sleeping with another man's wife is adultery, but so is desiring to sleep with another man's wife.
- Do we not live in a culture that abounds in pornography? Do we tolerate it?
(From A Year in the Old Testament, by Jeffrey Pulse, Concordia Publishing House, 2012, devotion written for Friday-Easter 4, page 146):
"Even in the midst of an evil world, the Lord sets apart His people; even in the midst of ungodly & pagan ways, the Lord sets apart His people. However, the slings & arrows of the evil one are vicious & persistent. The trials & trauma of an unclean, polluted world seek to overwhelm us. The cesspool of filth & corruption overflows upon the land & pollutes all who abide in it. How can we hope to be holy in this disgusting pit of sin? And if we are not holy, how can we be presented as a holy Bride? . . .
As slime & scum flow over our land, polluting everything in its path Christ Jesus stands stands in the way, stopping its advance & cleansing its corruption. As our culture of corruption seeks to impose its will & the garbage of immorality piles up in our streets, Christ Jesus stands in the midst, the Holy & Righteous One, shining in the darkness. As the vain & inglorious words & philosophies of an unrepentant world echo through the hills & valleys of our society, Christ Jesus is the clear voice of grace & truth sounding above the din. The Holy One has come to cleanse & claim His holy Bride . . . You shall be holy, for the Lord your God is holy--& we are in Christ Jesus!
So, are gay people slimy scum? Well, then we better join the club, because God has called us to be holy like He is holy, & we just can't be holy . . . except through Jesus.
- It is through Him alone that we become holy.
- Can a gay person be a believer? Yes, I believe He can, & I think there are gay people trapped in that lifestyle who try desperately to escape it, just like I find myself trapped in my own pet sins, trying desperately to escape.
- The solution? Look to Jesus, the author & perfector of your faith, & seek Him where He may be found.
- And where may He be found? In His Word.
- If nothing else during my "sabbatical," I've learned this . . .
- The more I think I know about Jesus & His Word, the more I find out I need to know about Jesus & His Word.
Those are my theological musings for today. Wow! I really got on one, but remember, a big reason I blog is because I find writing to be therapeutic for me. I welcome your comments & dialogue.
Reviews of today's blog:
"While the writer speaks from his heart, this makes for very ponderous reading. Those who are used to his lighter side will not enjoy today's post." Christianity Today
"We can neither confirm nor deny the Lutheran doctrinal authenticity of Mr. Leckband's so-called insights." The Lutheran Witness
"What he lacks in brevity he makes up for in verbosity." Lois Leckband
"He lost us after the first three sentences." CTCR
"If anything could be called blasphemous, this must be it. If we understood what 'blasphemous' meant." Huffington Post
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