When We Hurt

"Where is God when we hurt?"

Our world reeks of disease, sickness, viruses, germs. Life isn't lived under a disease-free dome. We catch colds from one another; our bodies are disease prone because of genetics; toxins poison our air, food, and water.

Sooner or later, in one way or another, we get sick--sometimes mildly sick, seriously sick, or terminally sick. When we're sick we hurt.

So, where is God when we hurt? Has he left town? Is he unconcerned? Do more important matters summon his attention?

Jesus cared about sick people. He healed hundreds---individually, sometimes every sick person in a village. Compassion, not success or notoriety, motivated him. Jesus healed because he cared.

Does Jesus still care when we hurt? Paul wrote, "Love never dies." If that's true, then Jesus still cares for sick and hurting persons.

Then why doesn't God heal our hurts? Anemic faith? Maybe. We're in the school of suffering? Maybe. God deleted supernatural healing from his menu? Maybe. Not everyone, even with strong faith, is healed? Maybe.

Paul was no stranger to pain: "I was given the gift of a handicap." He hurt. His pain limited his activity and worked on his emotions: "Satan's angel did his best to get me down." Discouragement camped around his soul.

Paul "begged God to remove it." He did what we do. What sane person enjoys pain? And God answered Paul's persistent begging: "then he told me, 'My grace is enough; it's all your need. My strength comes unto its own in your weakness" (2 Cor. 12).

That's it?

That's it!

Healing withheld. God offered his child a dose of strong-grace instead. And to chase away the demon of despair, Paul was expected to gab God's enabling-grace--strong enough to help him take the next step.

When getting rid of our pain is all we think about we're in danger of missing Christ's strength moving in on our weakness. Only when we let Jesus take over can we duplicate Paul's experience--"the weaker I get, the stronger I become."

First Love

Is it possible? "He loved us first" (I Jn).

Papa-God loved us first. Incredible, yet true. Spiritual beggars. Morally bankrupt. Soiled souls. Yet ... Papa loved us first. No strings attached. No prior 'oughts' or 'have-to's.' Love gushed from His heart to us.

Why?

What can we add to God? What advantage can we offer the One who is already complete and self-existent? We have nothing to offer to enhance him.

Why? We do not know, and we may never know. He loves us because he loves us. We know Papa loves us and that is enough for us here.

And Papa never stops loving us even if we never love him. His love endures forever and has no limits of time or space or quantity or quality. His love is like a bottomless, shoreless ocean into which we are invited to swim.

Love leaves us speechless. At best, we bow in joyful silence and embrace the One who has already embraced us.

"Greater love has no man than this," Jesus said, "that he lay down his life for his friends." Beaten beyond recognition, spiked to a cross, he cried out, "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they're doing." Love sacrificed himself even when we betrayed him, beat him, and spat in his face.

"God loved the world so much that he gave his Son." He still does.

Love can't rest. It's compelled to give. It gives no matter what the cost. Papa's loved us first. Why? That he might call us his beloved.

We want credit for the good things we do. It's reasonable. It's fiscally responsible, especially if it's tax deductible. We want out pat on the back.

Jesus sees alms giving differently. "Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won't be applauding. When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself. ...when you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it--quietly and unobtrusively" (Matthew 6:1-4, Message).

If you promise to help someone, don't talk about it, don't wait for an invitation, do it. Mow their lawn, take a meal, deposit money in their account. Do it. Let God be your witness.

That's exactly the way God works in your life. He never calls attention to Himself. He rescues you from sin, from judgment, from danger. And He does it all the time. But He does it quietly, behind the scenes.

We're the actors. We play out our good deeds as if on a stage. We want our name on the plaque or on the donor list. We're compassionate and generous as long as we can play the crowd. We do something good only to pause for our applause.

Getting credit for doing good things is the way of our world, but it's not the way of God's world. Self-appreciation and applause ranks high on our list but it doesn't make God's list. Why? Because God's kingdom is not about us; it's about Him.

God-centered people help those in need without fanfare or elaboration. They never make generosity a big deal. God-centered people give without excepting or negotiating praise, appreciation, or an ovation. The quality of your generosity reflects the quality of your life.

Treat the Patient...

"Treat the patient, not the disease." Such goes the ancient precept. Perhaps once observed, but now ignored. We explain our shift of emphasis with statements like this: "It's more economical to treat the disease and not the patient." "We're trained to diagnosis the disease, not the patient." "If the disease is healed, then the patient is healed."

Most illnesses do not strike like lightening. The ground is prepared for years, through bad habits, stress, emotional and moral problems, and maybe most significantly -- the 'secret tragedies' in every heart. "Man does not die," a doctor remarked, "He kills himself."

Every act of physical, psychological, or moral disobedience of God's purpose for our life has its inevitable consequences. It's the call of the church not to merely treat the illness (sin) but to treat the patient (what caused the sin).

But we don't have time or, more honestly, we don't want to take the time. It's easier to write a prescription -- 'be saved' and 'join the church' and 'come to the meetings' and 'give your time and money'-- then to help people resolve the 'secret tragedies' that keep them sick.

Jesus took a different approach. He understood the disease. But he also treated the patient. His aim was to bring us into relationship with His Father and thereby to bring us into complete wholeness--inside and outside.

Jesus isn't interested in just curing one part of us, He wants to cure all of us--spirit, soul, and body. We discover His wholeness when we bring ourselves under His sovereignty.

"May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together -- spirit, soul, and body -- and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:23).

Our Sense of Wonder

Have we lost our sense of wonder?

Several years before his death, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Herchel suffered a near-fatal heart attack. His closest male friend was at his bedside. The old rabbi was exhausted by his effort to speak. But he said, "Sam, never once in my life did I ask God for success or wisdom or power or fame. I asked for wonder, and he gave it to me."

Unlike Rabbi Herchel, we've lost our sense of wonder. We walk through God's creation listening to I-Pods, talking or texting on cell phones, or watching mini DVDs. We've become sophisticated tech-heads going through life without any sense of wonder.

Only the newest tech-toy causes us wonder. Yet even our tech-wonder is short lived. It dies by tomorrow. The new becomes old. Yesterday's wonder becomes today's boredom.

While we wait for our next tech-toy, we barely notice the stars in the sky, a full moon, or dewdrops clinging to rose leaves. Hummingbirds come and go. We don't see them. We mulch every leaf as soon as it falls. We seldom notice a red tail hawk in flight, a chipmunk scampering for a hiding place, a lizard soaking up the sun, or the tiny spider patiently waiting for its next meal.

In our race to get to our next event, we've grown complacent, proficient, high tech, and very practical. Our world has taken on shades of platinum. Glitz replaces beauty. As we gorge at the buffet of self-gratification, we miss the invaluable experience of awe, wonder, and reverence.

But as tragic as missing God's creative panorama of color, sound, and smell is, we're creating a greater deficit -- we bypass the wonder of God. We sit through church services and take for granted "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit."

How do we live in the presence of the living God without wonder and reverence? How do we sing about the grace and love of Jesus without being overwhelmed by dazzling awe? How can we listen to the whispers of the Spirit without a deep sense of surprise and astonishment?

Let us ask God for the gift he gave to Rabbi Joshua Abraham Herchel: "Father, grant me the grace of wonder. Surprise me, amaze me, awe me. Allow me to rediscover the wonder of your Person, the glory of your holiness, the marvel of your love and grace, and the surprise of your gifts."

For The Wobbly & Weak-Kneed

When Jesus said that he came "to preach good news to the poor" (Luke 4:18), he meant the accent of the gospel was for the poor. The word 'poor' does not simply mean poverty but all who suffer -- the unfortunate, wretched, wronged, oppressed, crippled, lame, leprous, demonized. The gospel is for those who have been left abandoned in the world.

As Brennan Manning says the gospel of grace is "for the sorely burdened who are still shifting the heavy suitcase from one hand to the other. It is for the wobbly and weak-kneed who know they don't have it altogether and are too proud to accept the handout of amazing grace."

"It is for the inconsistent, unsteady disciples whose cheese is falling off their cracker. It is for the poor, weak, sinful men and women with hereditary faults and limited talents."

"It is for earthen vessels who shuffle along on feet of clay. It is for the bent and the bruised who feel that their lives are a grave disappointment to God."

"It is for smart people who know they are stupid and honest disciples who admit they are scalawags."

His grace is for me.

His grace is for you.

His grace is for anyone who has grown weary and discouraged along the Journey.

Back Door Birth

While Mary and Joesph were in Bethlehem, David's town, for the census, "the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel" (Luke 2:6-7).

True, millions of babies have been born in homes, huts, or outside. But this is not the kind of birth we'd choose. No running water. No midwife. No hot towels. Nothing sterile. A young mother struggling through the pain of her first birth with only her fiancee to help her.

Birth is messy. The umbilical cord had to be cut. The placenta disposed of. The child and the mother cleaned. With what? Water from an animal trough?

And what is this baby's first bed? A warm bassinet in a climate controlled room attended to by neonatal nurses? No. A feeding trough made of mud or clay and stained from the saliva of feeding livestock. That was the baby's crib.

Not exactly the grand entrance one might expect for the Son of God. But there they were, Mary, Joseph, and the newborn Jesus, huddled together in an animal shelter on the outskirts of Bethlehem.

If no one in the world noticed his birth, God did. And the Proud Father announced his Son's birth to a few shepherds camping in the neighborhood guarding their sheep. He sent one of his angels who appeared out of nowhere as Papa's glory lit up their campsite. They were terrified.

God's messenger said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody worldwide. A Savior has been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger."

The shepherds left running and found the threesome just as the angel described. The shepherds were nobodies but they were Jesus' first visitors. "Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the shepherds were impressed."

Are we? Or has the story lost its edge? Are we impressed that God threw off his glory and humbled himself to become a human baby? Why? Why such a meager entrance? Why did he come through the back door?

"This is what the Son of Man has done. He came to serve, not be served -- and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage" (Matthew 20:26).

Through A Child's Eyes

Christmas is seen best through the eyes of a child. A one year old face explodes with laughter at the sight of the lit tree, points to her first gift, claps, and asks, "What's that?"

And the four year old who is the first one up on Christmas morning, joy and anticipation exploding inside, and who can't wait to open that first present.

Children don't over analyze Christmas. They don't worry about saying "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays." They understand the Christmas is a time of mystery -- Santa comes while they sleep. How do they know? The milk and cookies they left out for him are gone expect for some crumbs.

Children know Christmas is a time to give and receive. It's at time to laugh and play. It's a time to sing and enjoy being with family and friends. It doesn't matter if there is too much snow or no snow. It doesn't matter if the stock market is up or down. Nothing worries them. It's Christmas.

Most children know the Christmas story. And, Santa aside, they understand the Father's love poured out in baby Jesus.

And maybe that's enough.

Stop what you're doing. Reflect on Papa-God's enormous love in baby Jesus. Let the meaning of Christmas be refreshed in your heart.

Have a blessed Christmas!

Occam's Razor

William of Occam (or Ockham, a town in England), who lived 1285-1349, was a philosopher and a Franciscan monk, a pious man who took his vow of poverty very seriously. He lived using only what was absolutely necessary. From his simple life came a powerful idea which later came to be known as "Occam's Razor."

What was his idea? It was a philosophical guide or suggestion which states: when given two explanations for the same thing, the simpler one is usually the correct one. Originally, William wrote his notion in Latin in two parts: 1. Plurality should not be posited without necessity, 2. It is pointless to do with more what is done with less.

Why was the Franciscan's monk's thought called a razor? Because he wrote about it so much and used it so often, like shaving everyday. Thus the tag "Occam's Razor."

Occam's Razor is used in computer programing, medical diagnosis, and scientific research. That his thought is still used in the 21 century is impressive in itself.

I'll apply it to Christianity and the church. To say Jesus lived a simple live is an understatement -- "Foxes have dens, and birds have nests. But the Son of Man doesn't have a place to call his own" (Matthew 8:20). It doesn't get much simpler than that.

The simple Jesus was born in a animal shelter, laid in a trough, grew up in a nowhere village, wore homemade clothes, traveled by foot from village to village followed by a ragtag group of people who depended on the gifts of others for their basic needs. Nothing flashy, prosperous, or affluent about him.

One wonders if the Simple Jesus would feel at home in our affluent churches, ornate temples, and elaborate cathedrals? Maybe it's time to apply Occam's Razor to 21 century Christianity?

What We Think About God

It's been suggested that what we think about God is the most important thing. Maybe not. What God thinks about us seems infinitely more important. After all, God has the final say.

So, what does God think about us? 'God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die' (John 3:16).

That's what God thinks about us. He loves us enough to sacrifice everything for our sakes. His love is an infinite love, a love that surpasses knowledge, a love that has a length and a breadth, a depth and height which bypasses our comprehension.

Outside of revelation of the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to grasp the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. We can talk about his love, sing songs about his love, read scripture about his love, but apart from the Spirit's illumination we cannot begin to understand or experience his love.

Why? Because God's mind and ways '...are higher than the heavens--what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave--what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea' (Job 11:8-9). We can only kneel before our infinite God who loves us with a love that goes beyond anything we've ever known or experienced and offer our praise.

What we think of God matters only to the extent that it relates to what God thinks of us. It is written that we shall "stand before Him"-- our final and ultimate inspection. How will we survive such scrutiny? Only through the saving love of God demonstrated to us through his Son, Jesus.

Papa's love doesn't pity us or pat us on the back; his love wraps us in his arms and holds us tight. His love purifies, cleanses, forgives, and accepts us without regret or reservation. To be loved by God is a privilege and honor we can't comprehend. But so it is.

Blessed by the name of the LORD!

Unself Esteem

Self-esteem we know about. Diagnosis and cure surround us. The diagnosis: we think badly about ourselves because we weren't affirmed as a child. In fact, we were put down: "You'll never amount to anything." "B's & C's aren't A's!" "Why can't you be like Bob or Sally?"

Feelings of inferiority and issues of self-esteem are common to all of us. We all feel inadequate from time to time, no matter how well we try and disguise it.

And to prove our significance to those who "put us down" or made our lives hell trying to live up to false expectations, we develop defenses: "I'll show you!" We spend our lives being either the best or the worst to counter those who hurt us.

An interesting statistic might be how many millionaires, professional athletes, PhD's, ministers, missionaries, elders, deacons, CEO's, authors, politicians, professionals and criminals achieve success to prove their worth -- "I"ll show you." We are what we are; we do what we do to prove that we're better or worse than anyone thought we could ever be.

Our defense against feelings of inferiority usually lead us to lives of "proving something"--lives lived in bondage to Self.

God offers another way: unself-esteem. It's not hyper spirituality. It's not self-pity. It's not worm theology. It 's not false modesty. Rather, it involves an honest acceptance of our real identity in Christ.

Paul expressed his unself-esteem with his autobiographical statement: "I am the least important of all God's people" (Ephesians 3:8). Then he taught us how this happens through our new identity in Christ: "Let the Spirit change your way of thinking and make you into a new person" (Ephesians 4:23,24).

Self-esteem often turns inward. Unself-esteem turns outward. Self-esteem quickly becomes self-exalting. Unself-esteem releases us into a free life of Christ-exalting.

Warriors of Freedom

Days like today we find ways to show our gratitude to men and women who cared enough to offer the "supreme sacrifice" to protect and defend those they loved in a less than perfect world.

Wars and rumored wars -- nation fighting nation, government fighting government, whole sections of the world at war -- is sad, but routine history. War writes its own commentary on who we are, what we value, what we're willing to defend, sacrifice, and die for.

War is the great divide in the human family.

To what degree war is just and to what degree war is politics (a mixture of both?), I'll leave to the philosophers. War can be necessary -- even a necessary evil, but necessary nonetheless. War can be political -- a fight motivated by egotism dressed up as justice. But whatever the motive, noble or ignoble, war comes at a high price and a heavy cost: human life.

War, like a strong thunderstorm, clears the atmosphere, but only temporarily. Because war often changes circumstances but never changes human nature. The circumstantial results of war may last for centuries, yet human hearts filled with hate, prejudice, greed, bitterness, revenge, lust for power, sense of superiority that inflamed war remain untouched.

War humbles us. We're faced with the fact that, at best, we're deeply flawed humans living in a deeply flawed world.

"Father, bless those now serving in Harm's Way. God of compassion and mercy, you know us, everything about us. You know our sins and transgressions. But you desire that we know you. May we use our freedom that was won at great sacrifice to know you and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Amen."

Clouded Truth

The prophet Isaiah received a hard word from God: "Go and tell this people: 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed" (Isaiah 6:9-10). A tough word, an even tougher assignment.

Can it be true that God clouds the truth from certain people? Does God want to keep certain outsiders outside?

Unless you think this is merely an example of Old Testament cruelty, Jesus quoted the same words in the gospels of Matthew and Mark when he told the parable of the seed and the ground.

Isaiah was surrounded by false prophets preaching a false message. They were soft on sin and long on affirmation. They told people what they wanted to hear: "Everyone makes a mistake or two; don't worry about it; you're too good to worry about a misstep here or there." Isaiah cut across their 'feel good' message with sin-revealing truth and a call to serious repentance. Who wants to hear that kind of message?

So God clouded the truth from those who didn't want the truth. He affirmed the deliberately disobedient in their disobedience and the rebellious in their rebellion. Papa-God hid revelation from the people who despised revelation. He allowed anyone who chose to be outside of grace to stay outside of grace. He allowed outsiders to remain outside.

Jesus quoted this passage because he knew that most of the people who heard his call to repentance didn't believe they needed to repent. And Jesus also knew that most of them didn't believe Jesus to be who he says he is -- God's Son. They were indifferent both to the message of truth and the messenger who is Truth.

Therefore, God clouded the truth and kept them outside of grace.

Is that fair?

It's want they wanted. It was the destiny of their own making. And it's a warning to us all.

Life's Pooping Machines

Life doesn't always turn out the way we want it to. Along our journey, we step into some poop every now and then.

Golf is my hobby. In recent years, most golf courses have been plagued with Canada "pooping machines" better known as Canada geese. These winged invaders from the north have the audacity to hang around tee boxes and greens where they leave their unsightly calling cards -- geese poop, the size of a small dog's poop.

In addition to this insult, these uninvited aliens are, of course, federally protected.

Most of U.S. presidents have played golf. The present occupant of the oval office is no exception. In fact, he may have set a presidential record for playing more golf in his short time in office than any of his predecessors. I have no clue how he deals with the poop-problem, but it wouldn't surprise me if the secret service or some other tax-paid official picks up the geese poop before the chief executive walks to the first tee.

Golf isn't so pristine for the average Joe or Charles. We step in it, over it, or around it. Goose poop is annoying. It has however made me thankful that North Carolina (where I play most) has reintroduced coyotes to our habitat. I saw a healthy coyote run across a fairway about 30 yards ahead of me a few weeks ago heading for a flock of geese. It was a beautiful sight. One only hopes these swift scavengers develop a healthy appetite for goose!

All you animal rights folks, hold on to your leashes. The coyote solution is nature at its best work! Let creation balance itself out.

Have a great day. Play some golf or take a walk outside, pray for the coyotes and watch where your step.

Anxiety and Despair

Cast all your care upon God.

Easier said than done.

God invites us to cast all care away; if we don't cast it away, we retain it and remain anxious and despondent. And if we don't cast our concerns, troubles, and worries fully upon Papa-God, but in some other direction, we are not rid of them.

When we try to handle what we're not made to handle, our care doubles back on us with greater intensity. Now, we're really in the dumps.

To cast our care in any direction other than upon God is denial. And denial is a defective remedy.

Let God do what He does best -- take our overbearing load, handle what we cannot handle, shoulder our worries, troubles, and concerns. Is anything too difficult for Him?

Please don't take another step under your heartbreaking load. Throw all of it upon your God and receive His peace.

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you -- I Peter 5:7.

Get In The Story!

God's Word comes to us as story -- not myth or fiction -- but real-life story. Too often we read God's Story in fragments, a verse here, a verse there, a paragraph here, a chapter there. The smaller the fragment the easier it is to lose the Story.

God's Word is a huge story told by the Spirit through human authors using preaching, prophecy, poetry, parable, narrative, genealogy, wisdom, prayer. And this huge story has one purpose: God reveals himself to us in Jesus Christ.

So when you read God's Story make sure you allow the Spirit to pull you into it. Don't just read to get information or to find a "word" to meet your need for the moment. Allow the Spirit to tell you God's story. Be sure that you not only get the story, but that you get in the story.

It's a story of Papa-God's great love, mercy, and grace. Outside of grace, we are living corpses -- "dead in our trespasses and sins." Without hope. Unable to change ourselves. Insensitive and unresponsive to God. The walking-dead. Sure, we're full of good intentions, but we're also sin-driven.

We cannot over exaggerate what God has done for us in Christ Jesus. God ...

• Blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Jesus
• Made us holy, blameless, and covered us with His love
• Adopted us into His family
• Removed all our sins
• Brought us under Christ's headship
• Chose and predestined us according to His perfect will
• Sealed us by the Holy Spirit
• Raised up with Christ in glory
• Saved by grace through faith
• Fashioned us into His personal work of art.

Thank you, Papa-God, for your great story of lavish grace!

Double Honor

"The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching" (I Timothy 5:17). "Elder" may or may not be a term used in your church but it refers to spiritual leaders who are responsible for the general supervision of Papa's kids. And among those leaders, Paul highlights the leaders "whose work is preaching and teaching" -- preaching-teaching pastors.

"Double honor" means their work of preaching-teaching is appreciated and valued -- valued enough that they are compensated for it. However, in our society, the quarterback of a NFL team is more likely to receive "double honor" than the preaching-teaching pastor of a local church.

Diligent, disciplined, studied, prepared, gifted, anointed preacher-teachers have a short shelf-life in most churches. Their work is appreciated as long as the bottom line is met and the church is successful. But if a glitch interrupts the finances and/or attendance, the preacher-teacher becomes disposable goods. "Enough teaching. We need someone new." Which implies that we as a church have exhausted the depths of God's truth; that we know the Father as well as we want to. Therefore, we trade spiritual formation for a spiritual fix.

Paul doesn't suggest that we put hardworking preacher-teachers on a pedestal, exalt spiritual leaders, or bow in their presence. That's nonsense. Rather, Paul teaches us to honor the gift of God in a hardworking preacher-teacher. It is the gift that is worthy of double honor. It is the gift that provides spiritual meat and coaches the family of God out of infancy into spiritual maturity.

Most gifted preacher-teachers work out of a deep sense call. "Double honor" means we appreciate, value, and reward the grace of God poured out on us through the diligent work of preacher-teachers.

If we honor the gift, we honor the Giver. But if we dishonor the gift, we dishonor the Giver.

We're On The Same Road

From a human standpoint, we all walk the same road. If the road is life, then the road is the road.

However, from a spiritual viewpoint there are two distinctly different roads leading in different directions. The wide road is heavily traveled and ends in destruction. The narrow road is sparsely traveled and ends in life.

The question is how do we walk the road? Jesus said that two people can sleep in the same bed -- yet one is saved, the other lost. Two people can attend the same church -- yet one goes home saved, the other is lost. Two people can recite the same creed, give sacrificially, keep the same rules, go through the same rituals -- yet one knows God, the other does not.

How can this happen? It happens because it matters how we walk the road.

In his story, "The Good Neighbor," Jesus talked about a road between Jericho and Jerusalem. Five different people traveled that road. The first person was a innocent traveler who was robbed, beaten, and left for dead. The second the thug or thugs who attacked the man. The third a priest who looked the other way and kept walking. Followed by a Levite who mimicked the priest's actions. The last man, a half-breed, stopped and had mercy on the victim.

Five people walked the same road. What made the difference? It wasn't the road. The difference was how each person walked the road. The traveler was minding his own business. The robber was on the prowl. The priest and the Levite were too pious, too proud, too callus, too indifferent, and too afraid to get involved. Yet the Samaritan -- a social-religious outsider -- showed Papa-God's mercy.

Five people walked the same road, only one demonstrated salvation-mercy.

How do you walk the road?

What's Going On?

Daniel prophesied the literal reign of God on the earth: "And in the days of the kings the God will heaven will set up kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever" (Daniel 2:44).

Daniel saw through time to a moment in human experience when God's kingdom will displace every rival kingdom and crush the proud sovereignty of human rule. God alone will be King.

If that's true, then what's going on? Human governments still rule the earth. They call the shots, make the rules, enforce the law. Not unlike the time when Roman legions captured Jerusalem and ruled the world. It was a time when Jews believed that sovereignty belongs to God alone, therefore, the Romans were unwelcome intruders.

No wonder John the Baptizer sent his disciples to Jesus with this question: "How could Jesus bring the kingdom of God while sinful Rome remains in power?" Jesus answered, "Blessed is he who takes no offense in me." What he meant is this: The kingdom of God is here now, but instead of instead of overthrowing political kingdoms, it is overthrowing the rule of sin and Satan as it transforms the inner lives of men and women.

So, what's going on? The kingdom of God comes in two stages. Presently, God's kingdom has come quietly, unobtrusively, secretly. It works in the souls of people without calling attention to itself. The gospel of the kingdom is an offer that may be accepted or rejected. It comes with quiet persuasion not loud coercion.

However, stage two is on the way. In God's good time, at the end of the age, God will invade human history. This time He will not come quietly, but in power and great glory. God will smash every rival, destroy every political force, purge all sin and evil from the earth. And God alone will rule and reign.

That's what's going on.

Our New Trinity

A new trinity? That's right. We've created a new Trinity. Not that we completely discarded the old one -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Rather, we moved the traditional Trinity down the list in favor of our new one -- Needs, Wants, and Feelings.

On Sundays or church-days, we dress up our new Trinity as Holy Wants, Holy Needs, and Holy Feelings.

We've replaced the Three-In-One God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- with our three-in-one god: My Holy Wants, My Holy Needs, and My Holy Feelings.

The replacement doesn't shock you does it? It shouldn't because from birth we've been trained to choose for what is best for us. We rumble through our lives choosing what breakfast food we'll eat, what clothes we'll wear, what schools we'll attend, what sports we'll play, what hobbies we'll develop, what careers we'll pursue, what cars we'll drive, what image we want to present, what kind of people we want to associate with, who we'll date, who we'll marry, and what church we'll join. Life is our choice.

It doesn't take long for our self-choosing lifestyle to lead us to assume that whatever we need, want, and feel forms the core of who we are. We live self-driven lives. And the more we practice it, the better we become at it. I quickly convince myself that my needs are non-negotiable; my wants determine the size of my kingdom; my feelings express who I am. Needs, wants, and feelings form the New Trinity of my sovereign-self.

Don't get me wrong. I drag out the Old Trinity when I need God to do something for me. The Old Trinity comes in handy in church when I want others to know just how committed I am. It also helps when I pray for God to meet my needs, make me successful, and keep me happy.

But no matter what I'm doing, I'm never too far away from supporting the sovereignty of self. The lure of installing self at the center of my life is too attractive to pass up. Of course, the danger is that in so doing I miss God altogether.

No one can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). I cannot worship two gods at once. There can only be one Trinity in my life. It's my choice. What will I choose? Needs, wants, feelings or Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?