Philosophy says: “Think your way out.” Repeal says: “Drink your way out.” The New Deal says: “Spend your way out.” Science says: “Invent your way out.” Politics says: “Legislate your way out.” Industry says: “Work your way out.” Communism says: “Strike your way out.” Fascism says: “Bluff your way out.” Satan says: “There is no way out.”

Christ says: “I AM the WAY out.”

I found a little article clipping with this on it in my dad’s old Bible and thought it was interesting. Jesus is the way out!

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Spiritual Warfare

The biblical book of Joshua records the story of the Israelites crossing the Jordan River just before the battle of Jericho. The priests carried the Ark of the Covenant before the people and when their feet touched the water, it dried up. The priests then advanced to the middle of the dried up river and stood there, holding the Ark while the nation of Israel passed over on dry ground. After the crossing was completed, the Lord Himself instructed Joshua to have 12 stones removed from the midst of the dried up Jordan and taken to the Israelite camp for the night. Later, those 12 stones were used to fashion a memorial in the midst of the Jordan River at the spot where the priests stood while the people passed over.

Joshua 4 reads:

WHEN ALL the nation had fully passed over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Take twelve men from among the people, one man out of every tribe, and command them, take twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm; carry them over with you and leave them at the place where you lodge tonight.” Then Joshua called the twelve men of the Israelites whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. And Joshua said to them, “Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God in the midst of the Jordan, and take up every man of you a stone on his shoulder, as is the number of the tribes of the Israelites, that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, What do these stones mean to you? Then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial forever.” … And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.

The Book records many more instances where memorials are established. The Lord Himself made one in Genesis 9, setting His own bow in the sky as a reminder of his covenant with man. The tassels of the prayer shawls worn by Hebrew men were to be reminders of the commandments of the Lord in Numbers 15. A day per week, the Sabbath Day, was set aside at the command of the Lord in Deuteronomy 5. The purpose was so the Israelites would, “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.”

Biblical memorials have a purpose. They are not simply interesting or informative. They are crucial! In times of testing, in times of trial, when the enemies of the people of God were pressing hard and it was tempting to give in to to despair, to abandon faith in a God that is near, to reject not only His ability but His willingness to deliver, these memorials were designed to draw attention away from the clamor of the immediate to the immutable reality of the past. God’s people were to remember that He would deliver them today, not merely because He had said He would do so but because He had actually done so before and because His character does not change. Thus they could be confident of the tactic of placing their faith in God and hold firm to His deliverance from today’s enemy.

When the people of Israel forgot to remember God and His provision, they made poor choices and reaped accordingly. In Joshua 9, Joshua does not remember to consult with God on a crucial decision involving the Gibeonites and makes an ill advised treaty. At other times in their history, they failed to remember God’s words and neglected to drive out the Canaanites from the land or to destroy the high places where false gods were worshiped. Just before his death Joshua erected one last memorial. At Shechem, he recited for the people a history of God’s provision and encouraged them to follow God ending his exhortation with his famous line, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!” Near the end of Joshua 24 we read,

On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he drew up for them decrees and laws. And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the LORD. “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the LORD has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.”

Today we celebrate Memorial Day here in the United States of America. Separated by thousands of miles and thousands of years from those who established biblical memorials we are yet as close to them as if we stood shoulder to shoulder. Today, we remember the provision a gracious and loving God made for us and for freedom loving peoples across the world. We remember the love of country and liberty that fills the heart of America’s soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.

We remember those, not driven or coerced, but those who, moved by love and devotion, willingly left hearth and home for a thousand battlefields known to none but God and the men who died there. We remember those in whose hearts God placed a fire that burns, depending on the times, with a quiet smoldering or a consuming blaze. We remember those who looked at the same times and events as their fellows yet responded differently. Possessed of purer and truer vision than the masses, they saw the world as their biblical forbears did, “(the) … men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do, …” These are men we may describe today, as the writer of Hebrews described other heroes of faith, as “men of whom the world was not worthy”. Men who did not tell others of their support, commitment and love since it was plainly evident in their deeds. As the Master clearly said, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”, and again, “The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep!”

I think it may be Providential that Memorial Day this year falls here and now. As a nation in the midst of a debate about our role in the world; as a nation in the midst of a debate about what has happened to us and what our response should be; as a nation planning to continue these debates in the aftermath of a pathetic, short term funding of our military mission we have some decisions to make.

We must decide if the freedom we enjoy today is something we can simply take for granted will be there tomorrow. If we determine the answer is ‘No’ then we must decide how we will proceed to ensure that it is. It is at this point Memorial Day makes its crucial contribution to the debate. It reminds us that without the ability and the will to fight for what we believe our future is at risk. If we are not careful, we will miss the mute reminder of millions of silent graves. Their worldly voices silenced by the violence they endured, their counsel is easily overpowered by the click of the stock ticker, the cries of our children, the myriad demands of daily life made possible by the freedom we enjoy. If we are to have a chance at hearing the whispers from those who earned the right to speak in death by serving us in life we must make the conscious choice to stop and listen for them.

Their quiet wisdom is needed in times of doubt and indecision. It is needed when the choices we face are clear but the determination of which is the right choice is not. It is needed, today more than ever, as we choose the course we’ll follow as a nation in the days ahead. If we stop and choose to remember those that navigated these same murky waters before us we’ll find those things the memorials they erected were intended to enshrine. Their voices counsel us, “Duty … honor … God … country … sacrifice … liberty … love!”

If we will not make the effort; if, in the midst of the liberty they pass down to us, we forget to remember, we are fools. And like the stone erected by Joshua at Shechem, the very thing intended to comfort, guide and preserve us will bear witness against us that we received wisdom but were untrue to our fallen, our nation and our God.

Praying we strive to keep our memories clear and strong …

Blue Collar Muse

2 Comments
Heroes, History, Holidays, Patriotism, Spiritual Warfare

Let our thoughts and prayers be directed toward Jesus our Lord, on behalf of all those who have been hurt. After you have prayed go out and get radical with your witness and tell someone the story of Jesus. Tell them the good news and help combat the sickness that is running rampant across our land!

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Spiritual Warfare

A few years back, Tina Turner recorded the song from which I stole the title for this post. The song’s lyrics relegated love to the unimportant rank of both a “second hand emotion” and “a sweet old fashioned notion”.

Perhaps for Ms. Turner, that’s true. Or maybe not, after all, it’s just a song lyric and she has to sing ‘em like they was wrote! But certainly for the Christian, love has everything to do with it. Far from “second hand emotion” and quaint, out of date notions, love is more than a concept, Love is a Person. That Person is God Almighty.

There are many aspects of love but the most important one to remember is that love is a verb. Even the noun form of the word refers back to the verb for meaning. If I say, “I have love for my wife.”, the usage is a noun but the thought is of the verb. Love implies action. If you love something you will be active in showing that love.

I’ve been thinking about this a bit lately since I was almost seriously injured or killed last Thursday. I recently merged my company with another company and the new company has rented a new location. I was driving a forklift down a portable ramp from the dock to the ground and the ramp shifted just as I entered the top of it.

The short story is that I rode an 8500 pound forklift down a 4 foot vertical drop while carrying a full load on the forks. A friend asked if I managed to soil myself. I replied that by the time I realized what was happening it was over. All I remember was a loud bang and an abrupt WHAM at the bottom of the ride. There wasn’t time to soil myself. There wouldn’t have been enough time to have saved myself either, had the lift flipped or rolled. I would have been ejected and likely crushed. As it was, the lift fell straight down and landed on the forks first and then the back wheels.

The crews working in the building rushed over, worried I might have been hurt. Other than my injured pride and a sore lower back and neck four days later, I am totally fine. The general consensus among the bystanders was, “Dude! You have NO idea how lucky you were!” My opinion is that I was not lucky at all.

You see, I’m convinced there’s One Who loves me. I believe He was watching out for me early that Thursday morning. That’s the reason I survived. My pastor says it like this, “God is not a car crashing, cancer causing Creator. He is a loving, life giving Lord!” Lovers watch out for, look after, protect, care for and generally desire the best for the one they love.

That is true in the spiritual arena and in the natural realm as well. I have always found it interesting that some folks try to deny that truth. They say they love someone or something, behave in a very unloving way towards it, and expect me to believe their words over their actions.

I believe we’re seeing this in some of the national debates America is currently having. People are saying things like, “I support the troops!” or “I’m a patriotic American”. They want me to believe they love the troops, the country or what have you. But I’m looking at their actions. Do their actions match their words? Are they watching out for, looking after, protecting, caring for and generally desiring the best for what they claim to love. If not, I refuse to believe their words. Talk is cheap - actions matter - that’s what love has to do with it!

What do you think? Can you love without action? Are words alone enough? Can I believe what you say if there’s nothing to back up your words?

Remembering that He said we should not love in word only but in deed and in truth …

BCM

7 Comments
Heroes, Patriotism, Spiritual Warfare, Word of God

One of the spiritual gifts my wife and I have is ‘hospitality’. We love to entertain friends at home, the more the better. Some of our past Titans parties approach legendary status. Chad, you’ll have to join us some Sunday this season! If we play the Seahawks we can put JJ on speakerphone and taunt him as his team loses!

But, I digress …

Something we’ve done to get together with friends is establish regular annual celebrations or events. For instance, for years on the Friday before Christmas, M’Lady K and I get together with one specific couple and others (the others vary from year to year) to share some great hors ‘dourves, fellowship and then we watch Frank Capra’s ‘It’s A Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart. We know all the lines and have our favorites and thoroughly enjoy it every year. It’s one way we implement JJ’s ‘Lesson of the Day’ from a couple of weeks ago.

M’Lady K and I were talking the other day about this sort of tradition and wondered why we had one for Christmas but not for Easter. We decided to start one up this year.

We have invited 2 or 3 couples and their kids to join us on Good Friday evening and we’ll be watching Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ together.

We bought a copy of the film when it came out having already seen it at the theater. For those of you that have seen it, you understand that it is a powerful film. I think that’s part of why we’ve not watched it since then. But it’s time. 3 of our 5 kids have seen it and we’re going to allow the younger 2 to watch it with us this year if they want to.

We’re looking forward to time with good friends. We’re looking forward to the new tradition. Most of all, we’re looking forward to remembering the price paid for our redemption.

Over and over the Book encourages us to remember what God did in the past so we have specifics to hang our faith on in the future. This is true whether the event you are remembering specifically happened to you or not. For instance, stories in the Book inspire us and produce faith in us today even though the events happened to other people hundreds of years ago.

If this seems like something of benefit to you and yours, feel free to swipe the idea and fine tune it for you. The key is to lift up the Son, to fix our eyes on Him and magnify His name. Why? Because if Christ be lifted up, He will draw all men to Him.

Realizing I, too, am part of ‘all men’ and looking for a seat closer to the action …

BCM

9 Comments
Heroes, History, Holidays, Hollywood, Spiritual Warfare

A buddy of mine sent me a link this afternoon to “Godmen,” a group of Christian men who want to put the “Man” back in Christianity. They make these interesting points: 1) Christianity and the Church have been feminized in the US 2) Only 40% of churchgoers are men 3) Masculinity has been viewed in a negative capacity in our culture 4) Men ministry in churches are lacking in accountability 5) Jesus was meek, but He also kicked some tail when he needed to.

I tell you, these guys really have something here. Actually, we founded 3G with this very thing in mind. Christians men are NOT pansies! They love guys stuff. They have guy problems. Why try to sugarcoat who we are?

Brad Stine is a funny dude who has a passion for men being able to be men. Do me a favor and watch the video on their events page and tell me what you think of this ministry. They were also featured on ABC News.

9 Comments
Religion, Spiritual Warfare

My wife and I have 5 children ranging in age from 8 to 18. Something we have experienced with every child is the dislike they had for punishment when they did something wrong. Each child went through the same progression. First, they were sorry we disapproved of them doing something wrong. Next they were sorry they had been caught doing something wrong. Finally they were sorry they had done something wrong.

These three stages are ones we all pass through. At first we don’t know what we do is wrong. Then we only do what is right if we are forced to or if we believe that we’ll be caught and punished if we do the wrong thing. Finally we arrive at the place where we do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.

With the exception of psychopaths, pretty much everyone older than 10 knows right from wrong. That just leaves two stages to pass through. It is amazing how many people get stuck in stage two.

The time spent in stage two varies from person to person. Some never move on. Some do so only after many years. Most of us make the move anonymously and it’s a good thing since there is much we’ve done that we wouldn’t want to be made public. But some of us don’t. The latest to miss the anonymous trip is American Idol’s Antonella Barba.

Ms. Barba, recently voted off of the popular reality show, is just 20 years old. Despite being talented enough to make the show’s lineup, her personal life left a few things to be desired. She was involved in a sexually active relationship with a recent boyfriend. She allowed him to photograph their intimacy. She also posed for erotic photos in very public places, including a graphic wet t-shirt picture while she was in the fountain at the WWII memorial in Washington DC. After her breakup with the boyfriend she became an American Idol celebrity and her ex posted these pictures on the Internet.

In short, Ms. Barba got caught and is suffering the consequences. Not because she did something right, but because she did something wrong.

They media won’t spin it that way, of course. They’ll sympathize with her, feel sorry for her and denounce those who think what she did was illegal, immoral or, worst of all, sinful! The truth behind the story, however, is Ms. Barba’s actions wouldn’t be newsworthy if we didn’t all know, deep down, what she did was wrong. We may not say it, but everyone knows it.

Sometimes you get away with what you do. The Lord knows I surely have on multiple occasions and I’m grateful for the grace. But sometimes, sometimes the world crashes in on you for one moment of carelessness. I’ve had that happen, too. When it does, you show the world what sort of person you are by how you respond.

Before this morning, I had a great deal of sympathy for Ms. Barba. She messed up, was caught publicly and is paying the price. I wondered how she was really dealing with it and figured I would never know since I don’t know her personally.

This morning, though, World Net Daily linked to a Houston Chronicle story on that very topic and my heart sank. The headline to the story is, “After racy photos on Web, ousted Idol singer wary of trust”.

Having endured all of the negative publicity, the scorn, the pain, the anguish an event like this must certainly bring, the most important thing she learned was, “Be careful who you trust!” I was hoping for, “Be certain anything you do you would be proud to have splashed over the front page of media around the world!” How tragic not to have come away with more considering what this has cost her.

Tragic because Ms. Barba is stuck in stage two. Chief among her criteria for judging her own behavior is, “Will I get caught and how bad will it be if I do?” If I can be certain I won’t get caught, if I’m sure my companions will not rat me out later, I can do whatever I like because there will be no consequences. If I’m not sure my companions are trustworthy, then I better be careful because they might roll over on me later and I’ll have to deal with what I’ve done.

There is no morality. There is only, “What can I get away with!” You can protest, “I do TOO have morals!” However, that some of what you choose to do is generally accepted as “good” means nothing. What you do when everyone is watching is not ‘Character’. ‘Character’ is what you do when NO one is watching, when you’re SURE you won’t get caught. It’s when you do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do! It’s stage three.

Hoping Ms. Barba chooses to perform there soon…

BCM

2 Comments
Heroes, Hollywood, News, Porn, Spiritual Warfare

I just read some great news: They are planning to re-release “Johnny Cash Reads the Complete New Testament” on Cd in April. I have been looking for both a way to get more scripture in my day and for something to listen to on the way to and from work. Problem solved. You just gotta love Johnny’s deep baritone voice. I can image how cool it will be listening to Holy Scripture as read by the Man in Black, himself. I’ve heard other audio bibles read by so-so narrators, but this one should be great.

I was also looking for scripture audio files I can link to here on 3G. Now I can maybe use my cool audio player, when I am making scripture references so you can hear it in Johnny’s voice (hopeful I wont break any anti-piracy laws). I’m going to pre-order mine today. Maybe I will surf around and see what kind of deal I can get. For more info click below:

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6 Comments
Heroes, Readings, Spiritual Warfare, Word of God

In an article on Fox News entitled, “Sales of Rap Albums Take Stunning Nosedive”, it states that sales of rap music is down 21%. A drop! Historically rap music has been a climbing genre, let’s hope this trend is over and it continues to decline. The article tries to point out that rap music is negative and it may be affecting our culture negatively. Chuck Creekmur, a Rap industry insider, said, “I wish America would just be honest. America is sick. … America loves violence and sex.” But why should America be honest? What is honesty? What is right and what is wrong, can we know the difference? (more…)

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Evil, Hollywood, News, Porn, Spiritual Warfare

To wrap up this topic I can’t see a more fitting day than today. I do not celebrate today, Halloween, nor do my kids. What a boring life my kids have, how wrong you are. They do miss out on drunken rages and wife beatings and verbal abuse, poor kids. They get tortured by kisses and hugs and prayers and songs. I lay my hands on them each and every night and pray for God to be the center of their world. Over this weekend we moved into a 106 year old house. It was built before any world war or electricity. Hardworking men and women labored long hours to birth a house that, in its day, would be considered a home for a wealthy family. It is solid. If those walls could talk, I’d like to hear what they would say. My wife and I are laboring to build a solid home, based off the principles of God’s word… and fighting spiritual wickedness in high places. Some would say that such an old house would be creepy or haunted but we know the truth.

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3 Comments
Spiritual Warfare