Joel 3

Verse 10: Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears.

This text reminded of Isaiah 2:4: They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

There will come a day when war will never again be necessary, a day when weapons will not be needed; it is a day that all the world should look forward to, and all the world should work for. But it's never going to come while humans are still in charge, it's just part of who we are... Conflict is in our DNA.

There are times when war is necessary. When another nation attacks you or declares war on you, you must defend yourself. When a dictator decides that a certain type of person should be wiped off the face of the earth or decides to take someone else's land to puff up their ego,  then they need to be stopped. At times, war is necessary and so is a fighting force that is always ready to defend and protect.

But war is ugly. It is a terrible thing. Most often, the lives lost in battle are not the dictators and decision makers, they are the lives of young people just doing what they are told. If I was a 20 year-old living in Germany or Japan in 1940, what choices would I have?

So we wait for God's kingdom to become a reality here on earth, as it is in heaven. We wait for the day when no more heroes have to die in battle and leave a family at home. We wait for Jesus.

But Jesus is already here. The kingdom is already here. When we live our lives the way God created us to live, when we love one another and pray for enemies, then the kingdom shows up and gets bigger.

Scientists say the universe is always expanding, it keeps getting bigger. So is God's kingdom, and it will continue to grow until love and grace take over everything. I'm ready for that day. I'm ready for new DNA.   

Joel 2

Verse 32: "Then everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

This chapter has a lot of ugliness in it. It talks about armies coming to destroy, it says the sun will go dark, the earth will quake and all the people will be in anguish.

I've met a number of people this week that are in anguish. This morning I went to the funeral of a man named Bill; it was the second funeral I have been to in three days.

Bill's son Mark and his family are members of my church, and his wife Marie comes regularly to our Thursday book group. I know the family very well, but I never got a chance to know Bill. I heard this morning that he was a war hero, a pastor, a chaplain, a father, a husband and a good friend. He touched many people with his life and he will be missed by many.

How are we expected to say good-bye to people we love so much? How do we go on when a piece of us is gone?

It is times like this that I feel bad for people who don't believe in God, people without any hope of reuniting with their loved ones. I don't know how I would go on without the promises of God, like the one made in this verse. If the basis of our faith is nothing more than eternal life insurance, that would be enough for me.

I personally believe faith to be about much more than just heaven, it's about love, forgiveness, grace, mercy and the truth.... But heaven is a big part of it. Which is why I believe this verse. I believe that Bill's family will see him again. I believe that today was not a good-bye, instead it was a "see you soon, in a better place."

Some people may think Christians are naive, but what are our other options? 

I'm not really interested in darkness and anguish.  

Joel 1

Verses 19-20: "To you, Lord, I call, for fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.  Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness."

One of my favorite things about Southlake is that for the longest time the city would not allow any homes to be built on a plot of land that was smaller than an acre. (It may still be a law) Which makes for less homes and more trees, grass and ponds... More nature. I like nature.  

Recently it has been really hot here. It's been close to, or over 100 degrees every day for over a month and we have had very little rain. The city has restricted our water usage. Which means our grass isn't as green as it was in June, our trees are looking a little bare and the water level of our ponds are down. (To me, every "lake" in Texas is a pond. I grew up in Michigan, where we have real lakes.) We are conserving water because it is essential to life. Without water, nothing can survive; grass, trees, dogs, cats and people need water to live.

But what do you do when the streams have dried up? 

Scholars aren't sure when Joel was written, he could be warning the Israelites that this could happen or that this did happen because they put their trust in things and not in God. Either way, the message is the same then as it is now, do not trust in the things God created, trust in God.  

In the end, all things created will fail. Last week I was sitting at the bedside of my friend Cordula as she was dying and a cup of water would not have done her any good. All the great things on earth will come to an end or cease to be useful.

Except love, because God is love. All Cordula had with her when she left this earth was love, and that was all that she needed for her journey to eternal life.

Love will never be restricted and no heat wave can dry it up.

John 6: 35: Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."





   

Chick-Fil-A

I wanted to share my thoughts in regards to "National Chick-fil-a day." I thought I'd wait a week to post it as I didn't want to throw gasoline on the fire.

I didn't really want to address this, but as I read a lot of articles and blogs about last week, none of them said what I was thinking.

Millions of Americans flocked to Chick-fil-a restaurants last week in support of Dan Cathy's stance on gay marriage and his right to free speech. Here is what he recently said in the Baptist Press, "We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that." (July 22)

I can't say that I have a problem with what he said. He believes the biblical definition of marriage is one man and one woman for life. To be honest, Jesus says that in Matthew 19. (After the bible says a whole bunch of other stuff about marriage, see the chart below, provided by many of my seminary friends on facebook) Cathy chooses to read the bible in black and white, which means he believes the world was created in 6 days and is opposed to divorce. While I do not read the bible that way, I can respect his theology.

So the millions go eat chicken to support Cathy's right to freedom of speech. They showed up in opposition to big city mayors that would rather Cathy did not open any restaurants in their city. I don't have a problem with anyone going to get chicken in support of his rights. 

What bothers me is not what was said, but what was heard. While Christians were trying to say "We support Dan Cathy's right to free speech," millions of non-Christians emphatically heard "God hates gay people."  

The same people we are trying to share the gospel with have another reason to deny it. 

That makes me sad.



Malachi 4

Verses 2-3: But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty.

I think this is good news for Christians, especially Christians that have been trampled on by the wicked. Nobody has ever literally trampled on me, I can't even imagine what that would feel like. 

But people have taken advantage of me. People have stolen from me when I had very little. People have publicly embarrassed me for their own gain. People have been wicked to me, my family and my country. So like I said, I think this is good news.

But when this life is over, I don't want to trample on them; I don't want to even think about them. I want to be in awe while standing in the presence of God. I want all the negatives thoughts of this life to be gone, just a distant memory.

Actually, I want the wicked to be standing next to me, because that means God's grace is bigger than I could imagine.

And I'm sure that somewhere someone thinks I'm wicked.