Who is our Enemy? A Hero with no webs (Part 9)

What type of hero would you expect to save the world? A good-looking, bull-dozing, take no crap from nobody, command and conquer in one fell swoop kind of guy maybe? We’ve probably got a certain image of what a hero should be like. In the movies we can’t stand it when a person gets picked on and won’t fight back. That’s the way I felt when I saw the first Spider-Man movie. Early in the movie the nerdy hero Peter Parker is getting picked on again by the typical bully and everything in me is saying “Come on Pete knock him out, humiliate him.” Many, 2,000 years ago, were expecting someone like that minus the webs I’m sure. The ancient Israelites were expecting a king sent from God to deliver Israel from the hands of the pagan nations. They were sick of being ruled by Gentiles. But the hero they got wasn’t coming against the Pagan Romans. Rather, He was exposing a universal enemy and that enemy's operations. He was revealing a common enemy to God and humanity behind the various sicknesses, ‘religious’ establishments, oppression, and empires.

But Israel wanted him to usher in a second Golden Age like in the days of King David and his son Solomon. It was prophesied that the next king/messiah would come from the line of King David so why wouldn’t this next ‘son of David’ have a similar kingship like David? David went to war often with the neighboring nations driving them out from Israel and expanding the borders. So the same but even more was expected from this coming king. But when the ‘son of David’ came He didn’t come in noticeable immense glory. He didn’t come with a sword and shining armor. He came instead through a miraculous birth in a stinky stable. And the very ones He had created had no room for Him in the motel (inn). For the most part this hero came under the radar. He didn’t come with trumpets or thousands of angels. He came not as a rugged individualistic hero, but as a weak baby in the care of a little community (a mother and a father).

Look at the passage below that talks about this hero. Is this the hero you’d expect to save the world from the devil, death, and ourselves?

“There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. ³ He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by. He was despised, and we did not care. ⁴ Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God for his own sins! ⁵ But he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed! ⁶ All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the guilt and sins of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. ⁸ From prison and trial they led him away to his death. But who among the people realized that he was dying for their sins—that he was suffering their punishment? ⁹ He had done no wrong, and he never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave…”

So this hero came in weakness—a man of sorrows, yet in his weakness the power and plan of God was executed and the stronghold of the true Enemies were destroyed; the beginning of the end of this present evil age had/has begun. What He did no one else had done or could do because only God Himself could free us from the bondage of our three enemies: death, our sinful nature, and the devil.

What was this hero’s name? Jesus. And why did He come? “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” (1 John 3) As the father of the Vineyard Movement John Wimber said “Jesus was a devil duster” (and everybody laughed). The Devil, Enemy #3 meets Hero #1.

What “work” of the devil is the letter 1 John 3 referring too above?

Well let's look again at the woman who had been crippled by Satan for 18 years.

Luke chapter 13:

¹⁰ One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, ¹¹ he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are healed of your sickness!” ¹³ Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised and thanked God!

¹⁴ But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day [you weren’t supposed to ‘work’ on the Sabbath days]. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.”

¹⁵ But the Lord replied, “You hypocrite! You work on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from their stalls on the Sabbath and lead them out for water? ¹⁶ Wasn’t it necessary for me, even on the Sabbath day, to free this dear woman from the bondage in which Satan has held her for eighteen years?”

One of Satan’s works here in this woman’s life was assigning an evil spirit to cripple her. Jesus came and destroyed the devil’s work of sickness and brought health to her.

Or what about the violent crazy man I wrote about in Blog 7? What happened to him?

5 They arrived on the other side of the sea in the country of the Gerasenes. As Jesus got out of the boat, a madman from the cemetery came up to him. He lived there among the tombs and graves. No one could restrain him—he couldn’t be chained, couldn’t be tied down. He had been tied up many times with chains and ropes, but he broke the chains, snapped the ropes. No one was strong enough to tame him. Night and day he roamed through the graves and the hills, screaming out and slashing himself with sharp stones.

When he saw Jesus a long way off, he ran and bowed in worship before him—then bellowed in protest, “What business do you have, Jesus, Son of the High God, messing with me? I swear to God, don’t give me a hard time!” (Jesus had just commanded the tormenting evil spirit, “Out! Get out of the man!”)

Jesus asked him, “Tell me your name.”

He replied, “My name is Mob. I’m a rioting mob.” Then he desperately begged Jesus not to banish them from the country.

A large herd of pigs was browsing and rooting on a nearby hill. The demons begged him, “Send us to the pigs so we can live in them.” Jesus gave the order. But it was even worse for the pigs than for the man. Crazed, they stampeded over a cliff into the sea and drowned.

Those tending the pigs, scared to death, bolted and told their story in town and country. Everyone wanted to see what had happened. They came up to Jesus and saw the madman sitting there wearing decent clothes and making sense, no longer a walking madhouse of a man.

Those who had seen it told the others what had happened to the demon-possessed man and the pigs. At first they were in awe—and then they were upset, upset over the drowned pigs. They demanded that Jesus leave and not come back.

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the demon-delivered man begged to go along, but he wouldn’t let him. Jesus said, “Go home to your own people. Tell them your story—what the Master did, how he had mercy on you.” The man went back and began to preach in the Ten Towns area about what Jesus had done for him. He was the talk of the town.

The Devil’s work in this man's life was producing insanity in him, torment, which was causing him to cut himself and was separating him from society. Then Jesus came and destroyed this specific work of the devil by driving the demons out of the man until he was healed, clothed, and in his right mind.

Another example of the Devil's work being destroyed by Jesus is when we see and experience deep reconciliation between people; when people are no longer judging people by skin color or ethnicity but rather embracing each other. When this happens you know that the Kingdom of God has come and the work of the Devil (prejudiced caused division) has been destroyed.

Jesus came to destroy any and all the works of the Devil small and big, and one day this task will be completed. Jesus continually taught about the Kingdom of God, the will of God, the rule and reign of God, and as He spoke the words of the Kingdom the works of the Kingdom were unleashed—the miracles, the healing of sickness, the forgiveness of sin, true peace was being extended, the poor were being fed, and so on.

Yet ultimately death would still swallow up the poor, those who had been healed of sickness, those who had been brought back into community, and to those who Jesus told 'your sins are forgiven.' So if humanity were to really be saved and have hope for the future, Jesus would have to meet the Devil in the valley of the shadow of death. He would have to defeat the devil’s greatest weapon…death.

How would Jesus do it???

Who is our Enemy? An old story that never dies (Part 8)

Let us step back again…a little further…as far as we can go…back to when these sufferings of various kinds enter into our world. How did it happen? There is an old story that never dies. This old story’s framework is repeated throughout the various stories of our time: There’s a hero, a villain, an object of love, many obstacles, a diversity of characters and creatures, danger, a grand stage in which it all takes place, and of course a plot.

Now this story may be taboo for you or non-sense but perhaps you could at least read it and give it a shot.

The Old Story in the book of Genesis (meaning ‘beginning’) goes something like this:

In the beginning God (the hero) created all matter and brought the chaos, the formlessness, into order and form. He created everything that exists (a diversity of creatures and characters) and saw that it was all good. Lastly God created man and woman in His image (they were the object of the Hero’s love) to govern and steward the earth and all that was on it. God saw that it was ‘good’ (Jim Carrey’s impression J from the movie Bruce Almighty), very good. God gave Adam and Eve all they needed and He fellowshipped with them continually. There was no pain, suffering, disease, death, greed, natural disasters, and no shame—they walked around naked. The relationship between this couple and God was better than anything we could ever imagine. Yet true love will be tested if it wasn’t then how would we know it was true? Love must have choice/free-will in the equation. God didn’t create robots programmed to love and choose Him. So out of all the good trees He put in the beautiful Garden of Eden (part of the stage on the grand stage of the earth) He only put one there that he told Adam and Eve clearly not to eat from it. He even warned them that they would die if they ate from it. God also allowed the serpent (the villain) to tempt mankind (do you see the plot?).

So how did the serpent do it? He tempted the people to doubt God’s goodness and he lied by telling them that they’d be like God if they ate from this tree, the tree God clearly told them not to eat from. But they gave in and directly and deliberately disobeyed their loving God. Can you imagine the grief God felt? He had freely and generously given them so much and loved them so purely. His generosity and love was met with…betrayal. And our deep totally open and naked fellowship with God was severed their in the Garden many years ago. Do you feel that disconnection?

And this is what the serpent wanted. Now that they had directly disobeyed God, something called sin contaminated all of creation and allowed the serpent to have reign over the inhabitants of the earth. It was a rule and reign that God had originally given us to steward faithfully. But we proved unfaithful (don’t we often prove unfaithful stewards today? Look at Global Warming and pollution). Who exactly is this serpent?

“You were the perfection of wisdom and beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone—red carnelian, chrysolite, white moonstone, beryl, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald—all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold. They were given to you on the day you were created. I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire.

“You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you. Your great wealth filled you with violence, and you sinned. So I banished you from the mountain of God. I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire. Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings. You defiled your sanctuaries with your many sins and your dishonest trade…”—Ezekiel 28

“He was a murderer from the beginning and has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.”---John 8

The character of humanity’s oldest enemy, the serpent is revealed as full of arrogance, cunning, full of ingratitude, violent, and dishonest. All these traits are magnified in this enemy to the extreme.

And what is his name?

“No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were children of Abraham, you would follow his good example. ⁴⁰ I told you the truth I heard from God, but you are trying to kill me. Abraham wouldn’t do a thing like that. ⁴¹ No, you are obeying your real father when you act that way.”

They replied, “We were not born out of wedlock! Our true Father is God himself.”

⁴² Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. ⁴³ Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to do so! ⁴⁴ For you are the children of your father the Devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning and has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵

The name of our oldest enemy according to Jesus is the Devil and Satan, which means accuser. He is also called the ‘ancient serpent, who leads the whole world astray’ in the book of Revelation. This enemy is not some impersonal negative blob of energy but it has a name, an essence, and intelligence according to the Scriptures.

Back to the fall in Genesis chapter 3: when the fall happened our selfish/sinful nature became ingrained in us; we were slaves to it. And the Devil takes advantage of that slavery. He has had dominion over humanity and creation ever since we disobeyed and decided to do things our own way. Satan could now use his weapons such as: fear of death and sickness, which is what we saw happen to the two individuals in the stories we read in the previous blog. Now he and his well-organized force can stir-up trouble. They can tempt and teach others to do all types of evil and now he can receive worship from people directly or indirectly—getting people to worship other stuff besides the Creator, which he loves to do.

Yet despite all this GOD did NOT give up on His Creation. His love for us is constant. Ever since Genesis chapter 3 God has been relentlessly pursuing our restoration and the redemption of the Cosmos. He is on a mission to restore and reclaim his bride. He promised that the ultimate deliverer/hero would come and reverse what happened.

Throughout history God used a specific nation and their prophets to point to that ultimate hope. Through this nation the world received little glimpses of that coming hope. Through the nation of Israel came visions of what the rule and reign of God would look like when it finally came to right the wrongs, free the oppressed, bind Satan, and heal the damage that the three enemies, Satan, our selfish natures, and death had done. The prophets like Isaiah and Daniel were given vivid visions of the future and spoke of them. We needed more than a messenger that pointed to the way to God or to the hope of the future. Humanity needed someone who didn’t point somewhere but was in itself the destination, the hope, the peace, the way back into fellowship with God. We needed someone who could actually give us eternal life again. We needed God Himself…and that’s what the prophets foresaw. God Himself coming to recreate a broken creation.

So they waited…and waited…hundreds of years went by…Where was the light that was to shine in the darkness?

They continued to wait expecting a hero to come. And when he came they were perplexed and confused…

Who is our Enemy? Missing something…(Part 7)

A rough dirty hand grasps a sharp rock tightly. He turns on himself and slices his skin. His new wound will soon add to the collection of scars on his body. The man paces with no clothes on; his mind is tormented day and night. He is ‘home’…yet not in a house…but a graveyard, a series of tombs. He is the town’s crazy man; a violent looney. He is feared and is often guarded and chained so as to not disturb the peace of the near-by village. Sometimes super-human strength surges through this crazy man and he breaks the physical chains that bind him. Yet the madman is still chained to something. He is still a prisoner, still in bondage, still in torment, still an outcast of society, still suffering, and still lonely. The source of his issue: severely mentally insane we today would probably say.

A woman’s young relative comes to see her. But she can’t experience the joy of picking the toddler up because her back is bent over double. She is crippled. Her spine has been unable straighten up for

eighteen

long

years.

She sees the kids run, but she can only…limp. The source of her ailment: we today would probably say curvature of the spine.

Now I am not against science (Astronomy was one of my favorite classes) but is there more going on here than our modern scientific worldview will allow for? Is there something we are missing? Is there something else that is causing the issues for these two individuals above? Is there some other enemy consistently active here? Consistently stealing the

life

and

joy away

from these people.

Let us look at the woman above. We see her story, which could be your story or the story of a close relative, told in the book of Luke chapter 13

And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all…

In the book of Luke it says that her ailment was caused by a spirit. Not that she was born with it, not that she had an accident, and not because she consistently sat a certain way (all of which probably COULD’VE caused her problem), but an evil spirit was causing her spine to curve. Now does this mean that all people who have curvature of the spine have an evil spirit on them causing the sickness? No.

Again let’s look at the story of the man above who we would call mentally insane.

They arrived on the other side of the sea in the country of the Gerasenes. As he stepped out onto land, a madman from town met him; he was a victim of demons (from the Book of Luke). He lived there among the tombs and graves. No one could restrain him—he couldn’t be chained, couldn’t be tied down. He had been tied up many times with chains and ropes, but he broke the chains, snapped the ropes. No one was strong enough to tame him. Night and day he roamed through the graves and the hills, screaming out and slashing himself with sharp stones.

---The Book of Mark Chapter 5 and Luke chapter 8

Now do all people who are considered clinically insane have evil spirits as the cause? No I don’t think so. But these types of encounters/testimonies/stories are recorded throughout history and even today. Are they all simply ignorant and unenlightened or is there merit to some of these testimonies? Is there something unseen but felt that is against us all?

Many of us don’t have an issue with saying that there is probably some ‘higher power’ of some sort and that he/she/it is good. Yet often when it comes to talking about personalizing a spiritual evil that is behind all the torment, destruction, and death we laugh and say “that’s stupid.” Or don’t consider what it does and how it relates to us. Why is that? Well I’m sure the mystical extravagant paintings and artwork of the devil and demons—though skillfully done—probably doesn’t help J. Or perhaps the over emphasizing and blaming of evil beings for ones own actions has caused us to react to the opposite extreme by simply dismissing them all together. Is dismissing evil spirits totally though a good solution? Think about it:

If your car breaks down and the reason why it stalled on you was due to a bad transmission will your car be restored or start running again if you give it an oil change, give it new tires, give it a tune-up, or replace the whole engine? NO. Because that isn’t the problem with your car, the transmission is. Likewise if we dismiss evil spirits totally and they are the root cause of some of the issues a person is encountering then what good will treating it with medicine alone do? And I am not against medicine; in fact I’m taking some currently for a sinus infection though it isn’t helping L But what good would simply medicating the madman above do if evil spirits were truly the cause of his torment? It may keep him away from ‘us’ but he isn’t getting any better. Many of our hurts and pains big and small remain because the source of the problem isn’t being dealt with. It’s like we are trying to restore cars with transmission problems by giving them oil changes. I want to suggest that perhaps part of our dilemmas in life is due to the affects of one of humanity’s enemies. It is an enemy which is undetected largely because our western worldview has no grid for the supernatural. And therefore this enemy is being allowed to do want it wants. And what does an enemy want to do? Steal, Kill, and Destroy…Always.

So Who is this other enemy of ours and even more importantly Who is our Hero?

Prequel to Who is my/your/our Enemy? (Intro before part 1)

At the end of December 2007 I found myself taking a last minute weekend retreat by myself to Ocean City. I wanted—needed--to revamp and refocus for the coming year. As my beater car peaked the infamous Bay Bridge a recent local tragedy was brought to the forefront of my mind’s eye. Just a week or so prior to my retreat a Severna Park high school student jumped from the bridge I was driving over. She breathed her last breath. She saw her last day. Despair and sorrow overwhelmed her and gladly took her by the hand showing her

a

way

out.

I remember my years in high school when the kingdom of despair ruled my life. It showed me the SAME way out. It looked so inviting. It looked like the solution. I just wanted the depression to cease. I often wanted my life to end…

How did it come to this?

This question circulated as I peered over the bridge taking a glance at the choppy water of the Chesapeake. I began to imagine what thoughts were going through her mind and what heaviness was weighing on her heart before she stepped off. I asked myself ‘what brought her to this point?’ Sadness embraced me as I contemplated this.

How did it come to this?

How did life come to this?

Was life always this broken? Was despair always a part of humanity? Have you ever wondered where this brokenness comes from? Have you ever considered the source and therefore the enemies behind all the despair, hate, violence, emptiness, and unrest? Who is your enemy? Who is my enemy? Who is our enemy?

Join me as we look for answers. Join me as we look to discover who the enemy really is—and ultimately what the hero (I’m not the hero) has to say about it.

Who is our enemy? Don't Look Far (Part 6)

I remember as a young teen the catchy guitar rift. As the song played on the radio I would break out the air guitar. At times I would head bang and get crazy singing at the top of my lungs as best as I could. The experience was only heightened when I sung with my other friends. My air guitar went from real guitar as I learned how to play it on my red and white electric. It was the late 90s and the title of that song alone had/has much truth in it…

As I reflect on the identity of this next enemy I realize that I don’t need to first look at the genocide in the Sudan that is happening now, though I could. I don’t need to look at what Hitler and the Nazis did in WWII, though I could. I don’t need to first look at the people in the prisons throughout Maryland, though I could. To discover the identity of our other enemy I wouldn’t need to watch reality TV shows and observe the gossip and backstabbing that takes place, though I could. No, as I seek to identify this enemy that is unchanging and always coming against us (which is one the characteristics of a true enemy) I don’t need to look out but rather in.

I have realized that to identify this enemy I don’t need to first look out at others but first look into myself. If I am going to be honest I must admit that I have the potential to become an Adolph Hitler or any other ‘evil’ person. I have it in me to murder someone. I have it in me to create racist laws that bring injustice to certain people groups. I have it in me to steal. I have it in me to HATE. I have it in me to…

There is something in us that brings internal and external pain and strife to everyone.

What

is

it?

Have you ever observed a little child? The moment they see something that someone else has and is being entertained with they want it. They’ll throw a tantrum if they don’t get their way. They usually have a problem with sharing as well. Now this is ‘normal’ for little children but I wonder if that selfishness ever leaves us. As we get older do we really abandon that nature? It is so clearly seen when we are young; does it disappear as we mature or do we cover it up? It is cute for the first several years of our lives but then we realize we can’t get what we want by simply throwing a tantrum. Yet we still want what we want. So we change our methods in order to get what we desire; we manipulate. Sometimes in very creative ways, I may add. So again I ask “does that selfish—me centered—nature ever leave us?”

So why is this important to our discussion? Think about it. When we let our selfish nature rule our lives eventually OUR interests collide with other peoples’ interest; conflict then arises. A father tells his son all his life as a child that he needs to become a doctor but the son wants to be a writer. The father’s interest collides with the son’s. The father may then see the son as rebellious and a failure. The relationship suffers.

Or there is only one TV, two different shows that take place at the same time, and two people who want to see THEIR show. If the selfish nature is ruling their lives then conflict arises and the relationship is strained.

Or two people are hungry and there is food enough for only one. Does survival of the fittest come into play? Does a fight break out over this physical need? Does the selfish nature rule the day? Better yet does it have to rule the day? These are simple examples but are they not true?

What about the violent dictators in history? Isn’t the root of their killings selfishness? They want things THEIR way. Their way includes: total power and control over a people/region. They want fame, favor, money, and so on. They live in a ME-Centered universe and they will protect it at the cost of other people’s lives, people whose interests collide with their own.

There was this king of Israel named David. He had riches, fame, power, many wives and concubines yet one day his selfish nature took over. He saw a beautiful married woman, slept with her, and then secretly had her husband, who was a faithful soldier, put in the front lines of the battle so that he would be killed. The man was killed as the king had hoped.

I say all this to identity our second enemy; the friend of our Enemy Death is our Selfish Nature. The two work together and DEATH is a result of the latter (our sinful/selfish/me-centered nature).

Yet THERE is HOPE.

Oh and the title of the song I used to sing was

“My

Own

Worst

Enemy”

Who is Our Enemy? Make it Count (Part 5)

We had them. They were clueless. Their hopes were about to be smashed. 46 Blast X block was the play. I was the tight end and Tyler Hyatt was the over 6 foot near 300 lb right tackle. The ball was snapped I began the X by firing off first, smashing/blocking the unsuspected d-lineman. He was knocked off his feet humiliated and the defensive end had no chance against the second part of the X—the 300 lb Tyler Hyatt part. The hole we created this time was big enough to fit a concession stand (exaggeration). As usual Gary Touchdown Towns would go for the glory as he saw the hole open up.

That was one of the many memorable moments I had alongside Tyler the Mountain Hyatt on the unlimited weight Rebels football team. We were in 8^th grade. I dropped out of contact with Tyler after 9^th grade and heard very little from or about him for about 6-7 years. The last time I saw him was in the fall of 2007. Then I got a phone call several Sundays ago from one of his friends informing that Tyler had died in his sleep on Christmas night (2007). I was shocked. He was just 22 years old. I went to the viewing that evening. His mother remembered me and gave me a big hug. What do you say to a mother in a room filled with grief?

His father remembered who I was and gave me a hug as well. He then look me in the eyes and said ‘so what have you been doing with your life?’ Normally there is no weight to a question like that. Usually when we say that to people we haven’t seen in awhile and are only seeing for a brief moment it is more of a nice gesture and/or a way to create small talk. This was NOT one of those times. There was

so

much

weight

with his question. I could see it in his eyes. I could tell by the countenance of his face when he asked me ‘so what have you been doing with your life?’ As he asked me that question in the corner of my eye I could see his son, my old teammate, in a casket. When he asked me that question it was as if he was saying ‘Please tell me that you are doing good things with your life. Please tell me that you haven’t been wasting it. Please tell me that you are making it count for something big. Because my son is lying in that casket. Just 22 years old, that could’ve been you in that casket' (I am 22 as well). Death is coming. Are you making this life count for something good…something eternal?

Death is a glutton. It is never satisfied.
According to latest death statistics:

• An average of 59 million people die every year (2 every second)
• Every 102 seconds one person dies as a war victim
• Every 61 seconds one person is murdered
• Every 39 seconds one person commits suicide
• Every 26 seconds one person dies in a traffic accident
• Every 3 seconds a person dies from hunger-related causes
• Every 3 seconds one child under the age of 5 dies

Count: 1…2…another one is swallowed up. By the time I finish this sentence another 2 or 3 will be swallowed up by our enemy called DEATH. Did our lives count for something/someone? When you really think about the certainty of facing death does fear arise in you? The apparent mystery scares us doesn’t’ it? This fear of death has been a primary weapon used in human history to get people to do things. A dictator can control multitudes with the threat of death to all who oppose him/her. The threat of killing family and friends let alone yourself is a fear that is in the masses of mankind. Do you fear death as well?

Humans are spending a lot of money trying to conquer this fear of death. We want to live longer but ultimately we want to reverse aging and never die. We want the victory. Yet so far death seems to have all the victories right? Count: 1…2…another person is dead. Another person is swallowed by death. So if this is true then how can an author say this “Death is swallowed up in victory.

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

Death is the one being swallowed up??? Death has no victory? Death has lost its sting? This is what the text says with an author who had absolute confidence and conviction in it. He had seen something and someone that changed his entire outlook on life and this enemy called death. Who did he see? How can he say with such conviction the words above?

Count: 1…2…death has taken another one. Yet is Death’s scorecard really millions or billions dead to a big fat ZERO (meaning no one has conquered it)? The author (s) above didn’t believe so. What say you?

Count: 1…2…maybe another Tyler has just breathed his last. Was this world always like this? Will it always be like this? There is a text that says this, “He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.”

Will it always be like this? Someone, somewhere, at sometime has said "No!" Can you hear that voice today?

(http://www.usattorneylegalservices.com/death-statistics.html)

Treasures

I was one of 9 people from our church who went on the New Orleans Mercy Response trip and what an experience it was. This was my second time to New Orleans, the 1^st being two years ago about a month after Hurricane Katrina hit. Much has improved since then but much still needs to be done. The hearts of the team were definitely touched in many ways as we met practical needs of many.

Our first day of work was met with a day and half of rain…lots of it. Our first task: go into a home and remove all the belongings inside—furniture, clothing, liquor, carpet, refrigerators etc…) all of which had been drenched in water and hadn’t been touched in 2 years. The place stunk. There were wasp nests and wasps along with some of those nests. There were lizards crawling around. We had some fun squashing roaches and we also found a young possum—what an adventure that was trying to get that cute n scary looking thing out the door! As the rain poured and the junk pile in front of the house rose I was struck a little. All these possessions…trashed…in a moment. I was getting a rare chance to see the true value of earthly possessions…temporal and for the most part worthless. They were worthless in the sense that they don’t make up WHO you are as a person; worthless in the sense that we will take none of these possessions with us when we die; worthless in the sense that it is pointless to pursue an accumulation of earthly possessions. As I saw this huge mound of stuff the words of Jesus came to life—“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I think we could also say “do not store up treasures on earth, where Storms, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Fires, come in a moment and destroy.” Seeing the destruction of all this stuff made us all put earthly possessions in their right place…to be used for the good of others meeting immediate needs, to be accepted with contentment and gratitude, but nothing to be attached to, something to hoard, or pursue.

In April 2008 we are going on another New Orleans relief work trip. If ANYONE wants to go let me know nbouadjemi@vcccm.org