To cause to explode ...
March 22, 2017
The word fulminate may mean, variously: to issue a thunderous verbal attack or denunciation, to explode or detonate, to cause to explode.
Which of these results do the political fulminators of today desire? Perhaps all of them? But let's think. What can happen in an explosion?
"ROCKVILLE, Md. — A house in a Maryland suburb of the nation’s capital was leveled early Friday by a thunderous explosion heard for miles around, a blast so powerful it shattered windows and caused other damage to several neighboring homes, authorities said ... It’s just a pile of debris; it’s just a pile of bricks. There’s not anything left of the house,” said Pete Piringer, chief spokesman for Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service."
The explosion affected not only the home, but distant neighbors. "I’ve heard there were calls from miles away, people calling," said the fire department spokesman according to radio station CBS DC 106.7
Is this what we want for America? Surely Christians should not! Yet I find myself fulminating against political leaders and fellow citizens all too often. The separation between my convictions and my mouth can be galactic. This must stop.
The time has come for people like me to model the self discipline Christ commanded, and let our neighbors see a people headed out of the smoke and flame to kindness and sanity.
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Man-Found-in-Ruins-of-Rockville-House-Explosion-Identified-416642623.html
First I spied the dimple, then the fish.
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Can dementia be a friend?
A Christian friend of mine - I'll call him Jack - was telling me at breakfast yesterday how his father came to believe in Jesus Christ. This happened at the end of a life in which the father had distanced himself from Christ.
As the father advanced in age he developed a serious illness together with dementia. While Jack helped care for his father, they had opportunities to talk.
Jack discovered something amazing: the dementia had caused the father to forget the objections he formerly had to belief in Christ! Now he listened and ultimately put his faith in Christ, the son of God!
To a person who is not Christian, this may seem only a quirk or unusual development in a wasting illness.
To me and my Christian friend, it seems God used the dementia to offer the father a clean spiritual slate - a blank sheet of paper on which his Maker proceeded to write the truth and won him over to Christ. And to eternal life.
Jesus said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” Luke 18:27
I believe this.
As the father advanced in age he developed a serious illness together with dementia. While Jack helped care for his father, they had opportunities to talk.
Jack discovered something amazing: the dementia had caused the father to forget the objections he formerly had to belief in Christ! Now he listened and ultimately put his faith in Christ, the son of God!
To a person who is not Christian, this may seem only a quirk or unusual development in a wasting illness.
To me and my Christian friend, it seems God used the dementia to offer the father a clean spiritual slate - a blank sheet of paper on which his Maker proceeded to write the truth and won him over to Christ. And to eternal life.
Jesus said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” Luke 18:27
I believe this.
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
A white boy's induction into America
I grew up white. I still am white. I want to testify that black Americans have "friended" me into their communities. Have allowed me to share things I could never have been a part of without their friendship.
No, I don't mean on social media. When these friendships started social media didn't exist.
I grew up in a white community. My first experience of living with black men came in the Air Force in the late 1950s. Several black fellow airmen were friendly to me and I welcomed their friendship. Still I sometimes fell into an attitude of superiority.
When I left the armed forces I returned to my essentially white community, attending a local university. My friendships at college were entirely white. While not hostile to black people, I felt impatience with the black men and women who were "sitting in" at the drugstore lunch counter across from the university, asking for the same service as whites. I could live with the proprietor's privilege of serving whom he chose, and of turning others away.
Studying law in Washington, DC, in the early 1960s, I encountered a much broader ethnic mix than I had at college. Any attitude of superiority on my part vanished, as it became obvious that my legal talents were no more than average - on a good day. My fellow students came with all kinds of ethnic backgrounds.
On graduation, I was fortunate to gain a job in a Texas U.S. Attorney's office. There the young black woman who was my administrative assistant refused to put up with a condescending attitude, and instead patiently worked with me as I learned. Likewise, my first supervisor was a capable black woman who was not a lawyer. Imagine, a lawyer working in a law office under a non lawyer! Working with two black women - one over and one beside me - could have been a problem had they not been friendly and patient.
As I gained experience a black Assistant U.S. Attorney, Carl Walker, Jr., befriended me. That friendship was tested. For example, I remember how much I dreaded meeting Carl the morning after Dr. King was murdered in Memphis. I feared that Carl might attribute his death to "my people." That morning our coffee group had our usual meeting in the canteen. Carl was unchanged. I was grateful.
What lesson do I draw from my "cross cultural" experiences with black Americans? There is hope for our so-called "American Experiment." We can become one nation. We can become supportive friends even while we remain creatures of our particular cultures.
It has been said that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, and I believe this. Today in America there is much vigilance toward and fear of strange foreign cultures. However, while vigilant, we must recognize that our fears of other cultures can exceed their actual potential for doing harm and can make us ignore the potential for good relationships.
Through the kindness and forbearance of black colleagues over the years I have learned to value them, their culture, their interests and their friendship. I have learned to value their work and have learned from them how to do mine. I pray that I always will remember how people from this American culture that was strange to me made me their friend, their colleague, and often their pupil. I pray that I will be the same kind of friend to other people who start out strange to me.
No, I don't mean on social media. When these friendships started social media didn't exist.
I grew up in a white community. My first experience of living with black men came in the Air Force in the late 1950s. Several black fellow airmen were friendly to me and I welcomed their friendship. Still I sometimes fell into an attitude of superiority.
When I left the armed forces I returned to my essentially white community, attending a local university. My friendships at college were entirely white. While not hostile to black people, I felt impatience with the black men and women who were "sitting in" at the drugstore lunch counter across from the university, asking for the same service as whites. I could live with the proprietor's privilege of serving whom he chose, and of turning others away.
Studying law in Washington, DC, in the early 1960s, I encountered a much broader ethnic mix than I had at college. Any attitude of superiority on my part vanished, as it became obvious that my legal talents were no more than average - on a good day. My fellow students came with all kinds of ethnic backgrounds.
On graduation, I was fortunate to gain a job in a Texas U.S. Attorney's office. There the young black woman who was my administrative assistant refused to put up with a condescending attitude, and instead patiently worked with me as I learned. Likewise, my first supervisor was a capable black woman who was not a lawyer. Imagine, a lawyer working in a law office under a non lawyer! Working with two black women - one over and one beside me - could have been a problem had they not been friendly and patient.
As I gained experience a black Assistant U.S. Attorney, Carl Walker, Jr., befriended me. That friendship was tested. For example, I remember how much I dreaded meeting Carl the morning after Dr. King was murdered in Memphis. I feared that Carl might attribute his death to "my people." That morning our coffee group had our usual meeting in the canteen. Carl was unchanged. I was grateful.
What lesson do I draw from my "cross cultural" experiences with black Americans? There is hope for our so-called "American Experiment." We can become one nation. We can become supportive friends even while we remain creatures of our particular cultures.
It has been said that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, and I believe this. Today in America there is much vigilance toward and fear of strange foreign cultures. However, while vigilant, we must recognize that our fears of other cultures can exceed their actual potential for doing harm and can make us ignore the potential for good relationships.
Through the kindness and forbearance of black colleagues over the years I have learned to value them, their culture, their interests and their friendship. I have learned to value their work and have learned from them how to do mine. I pray that I always will remember how people from this American culture that was strange to me made me their friend, their colleague, and often their pupil. I pray that I will be the same kind of friend to other people who start out strange to me.
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Dependency
I believe dependency on God opens the door to true security, life and freedom. (Isaiah 43) It is available no other way.
Dependency on government or other powers kills your spirit. (Psalm 146:3, Psalm 118:8-9) These powers lack commitment to you.
Dependency on self leads to disappointment when you discover your limitations. (Matthew 7:42, Galatians 5:17)
Dependency on God enlarges your spirit and transcends your limitations, for God's commitment to His sons and daughters is complete and His resources are unlimited.
Fear of evil, death, pain or punishment may cloud the reality of God's provision, but Christ has conquered these and promised to deliver His people to a new life and kingdom where peace (shalom) prevails. (John 16:33, 1 Corinthians 15:50-58) Christ has removed the causes for fear by means of the sacrifice He made of Himself on the cross and His ensuing resurrection.
Therefore dependency on God's commitment opens the door to true life, security, freedom - and I would add joy - and bears us up in the trials of this life.
Dependency on government or other powers kills your spirit. (Psalm 146:3, Psalm 118:8-9) These powers lack commitment to you.
Dependency on self leads to disappointment when you discover your limitations. (Matthew 7:42, Galatians 5:17)
Dependency on God enlarges your spirit and transcends your limitations, for God's commitment to His sons and daughters is complete and His resources are unlimited.
Fear of evil, death, pain or punishment may cloud the reality of God's provision, but Christ has conquered these and promised to deliver His people to a new life and kingdom where peace (shalom) prevails. (John 16:33, 1 Corinthians 15:50-58) Christ has removed the causes for fear by means of the sacrifice He made of Himself on the cross and His ensuing resurrection.
Therefore dependency on God's commitment opens the door to true life, security, freedom - and I would add joy - and bears us up in the trials of this life.
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Sanctuary from everything federal ...
Americans who want their cities to be "sanctuaries" for violators of federal law might properly go a step further and declare themselves free of ALL federal law. If one can selectively nullify a U.S. law, why not nullify the whole package? Including the U.S. Constitution.
Sounds absurd, doesn't it?
Is it any less absurd to rob your fellow citizens of the protection of a law that penalizes people who sneak into our country, or enter by deceit, or violate the terms of legal visas?
If you want people to have legal sanctuary who enter this way, shouldn't you make your case to the body that has jurisdiction over such questions - the United States Congress?
If you won't do that, will you at least have concern for your neighbors? I mean, stop asking state and local governments to encourage violation of federal law. They are authorities charged with protecting us, your neighbors. What makes it right to endanger your neighbors to indulge your philosophical or political opinion?
Sounds absurd, doesn't it?
Is it any less absurd to rob your fellow citizens of the protection of a law that penalizes people who sneak into our country, or enter by deceit, or violate the terms of legal visas?
If you want people to have legal sanctuary who enter this way, shouldn't you make your case to the body that has jurisdiction over such questions - the United States Congress?
If you won't do that, will you at least have concern for your neighbors? I mean, stop asking state and local governments to encourage violation of federal law. They are authorities charged with protecting us, your neighbors. What makes it right to endanger your neighbors to indulge your philosophical or political opinion?
Thursday, February 2, 2017
A spiritual plague ...
Our nation, like other nations, is experiencing a spiritual plague. We collectively and individually have doubted the authority of God and in many cases the existence of God. This often is true of Christians as well as others.
We Christians sometimes believe in a watered down Christ, or a Christ whom we embellish with our own will instead of diligently seeking His. In safe and prosperous times this attitude seems alright. In unruly hard times (like the present) the error should be obvious, but it often becomes obvious only after it has caused a lot of damage.
What Christians believe and do has a great influence - good or bad - on the community around us. The prophet Jeremiah identified the response God wanted from His people in a time when Israel was subdued and exiled in Babylon, having been defeated by King Nebuchadnezzar. They were at the mercy of hostile conquerors, but God commanded "... seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace." Jeremiah 29:7
The unruliness of America today stems from a spiritual problem, and I believe spiritual problems call for spiritual solutions. If the church of Jesus Christ prays in the way Jeremiah described, the church will move toward peace and the nation around us will do the same. How do I know this? God promises.
We Christians sometimes believe in a watered down Christ, or a Christ whom we embellish with our own will instead of diligently seeking His. In safe and prosperous times this attitude seems alright. In unruly hard times (like the present) the error should be obvious, but it often becomes obvious only after it has caused a lot of damage.
What Christians believe and do has a great influence - good or bad - on the community around us. The prophet Jeremiah identified the response God wanted from His people in a time when Israel was subdued and exiled in Babylon, having been defeated by King Nebuchadnezzar. They were at the mercy of hostile conquerors, but God commanded "... seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace." Jeremiah 29:7
The unruliness of America today stems from a spiritual problem, and I believe spiritual problems call for spiritual solutions. If the church of Jesus Christ prays in the way Jeremiah described, the church will move toward peace and the nation around us will do the same. How do I know this? God promises.
"When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:13-14
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Shock and awful ...
"But because shock events destabilize a society, they can also be used positively. We do not have to respond along old fault lines. We could just as easily reorganize into a different pattern that threatens the people who sparked the event." So wrote Heather Richardson in the Dallas Morning News.
Who can disagree that the manner in which the president's executive order on immigration was put in place last weekend, was a shock?
It WAS a shock. To that extent I concur in Heather Richardson's opinion piece. However, I have no way of knowing whether it's motive was to shock people, or whether the author was the president's advisor Steve Bannon. Perhaps it makes no difference.
I also agree - to a limited extent - that the shock presents an opportunity. Not an opportunity for "threatening the people who sparked the event", but for collaborating with Congress and the White House to refine and explain the policy.
Ms. Richardson's piece provoked me to reflect more deeply on what is happening as a result of the order. As usual for almost a decade, the news media took sides and members of Congress retreated into opposing corners then came out fighting.
Isn't it time Congress functioned as a refiner of policy rather than an arena for mortal combat?
In my view Congress has failed too long to cooperate with one another and fulfill its constitutional role of advising and checking the president. All Members, House and Senate, Democrat and Republican, have a serious stake in maintaining the functionality of their respective chambers. Does Congress want to become as nonfunctional as the human appendix?
The prolonged dysfunction of Congress may at least partly explain the wracking chaos of the recent primaries, general election, and post election periods.
Both parties-all parties-are stakeholders in our constitutional republic. We still have the implements of a republic. Let's go back to using them so we can keep it!
Who can disagree that the manner in which the president's executive order on immigration was put in place last weekend, was a shock?
It WAS a shock. To that extent I concur in Heather Richardson's opinion piece. However, I have no way of knowing whether it's motive was to shock people, or whether the author was the president's advisor Steve Bannon. Perhaps it makes no difference.
I also agree - to a limited extent - that the shock presents an opportunity. Not an opportunity for "threatening the people who sparked the event", but for collaborating with Congress and the White House to refine and explain the policy.
Ms. Richardson's piece provoked me to reflect more deeply on what is happening as a result of the order. As usual for almost a decade, the news media took sides and members of Congress retreated into opposing corners then came out fighting.
Isn't it time Congress functioned as a refiner of policy rather than an arena for mortal combat?
In my view Congress has failed too long to cooperate with one another and fulfill its constitutional role of advising and checking the president. All Members, House and Senate, Democrat and Republican, have a serious stake in maintaining the functionality of their respective chambers. Does Congress want to become as nonfunctional as the human appendix?
The prolonged dysfunction of Congress may at least partly explain the wracking chaos of the recent primaries, general election, and post election periods.
Both parties-all parties-are stakeholders in our constitutional republic. We still have the implements of a republic. Let's go back to using them so we can keep it!
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