War Memorial

On Wednesday Mark and I visited the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.  I uploaded some of the pictures to my flickr account which can be accessed by following the link on the right panel of the blog.  In addition to a tranquil place of memorial, there is a museum which houses many replicas and actual uniforms, weapons, medals, planes, and stories from primarily the first and second world wars.  Although primarily Australian in focus, there is a unique international flair.  There are not only Australian relics, but many articles from Italian, German, and Japanese forces.  It emphasized the world-wide scale of the war and how great the impact was on all people.

As I perused weapons designed for maximum destruction of humans, armor, and equipment, I could not think of war in any romantic terms.  War is a terrible necessity sometimes brought upon a country or group of people.  It is a great tragedy that war comes at the immense cost of human life.  It is not only the man eviscerated or decapitated who personally experiences the pain of war.  He often left parents, brothers, sisters, a wife, and children behind.  War does, however, provide an opportunity for valor not displayed in times of peace.  In times of great conflict some men wilt and yet others blossom.  There was a painting and caption which commanded my attention.

 This is a painting by Dale Marsh (1940) depicting "Ordinary Seaman Edward Sheean, HMAS Armidale."  The caption reads:  "'Teddy' Sheean was a loader for an Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun on HMAS Armidale.  When the order to abandon ship was given, he made for the side, only to be hit twice by bullets of an attacking aircraft. 'None of us will ever know what made him do it,' wrote a shipmate after the event, 'but he went back to his gun, strapped himself in, and brought down a [Japanese] plane, still firing as he disappeared beneath the waves.'"  Here is the story of an ordinary man doing a most extraordinary thing.  His job was to load the gun, but when wounded he took it upon himself to strap himself in and fire upon the enemy.  He showed great courage even when faced with his own mortality.  Mr. Sheean took no thought for his own life, but gave himself willingly.

In war there are casualties.  People are maimed, disfigured, and carry with them injuries that will affect the rest of their lives on earth.  We are often insulated from the gritty horror of actual war and cannot comprehend the devastating emotional price paid by soldiers.  As Christians, we are part of a spiritual battle which threatens to destroy our resolve, drown us in temptation, and isolate us from accountability and fellowship.  When Christians stumble and fall into sin, instead of being moved to compassion with grace, other Christians often stand in judgment.  Can you imagine that if Seaman Sheean had survived the conflict he was given the "cold shoulder" by his mates because he didn't obey orders and abandon ship faster?  Ridiculous!  Sometimes people just need a hug!  Sadly we often stand in judgment of others when they face a divorce, fall prey to false teaching, commit suicide, or have views different from our own.  It is not for us to judge:  we ought to pray for compassion, grace, mercy, and truth exercised in love.  Christians experience pain too.  Sometimes there are injuries inflicted that we will carry for the rest of our earthly lives.  We will not "get over" certain things we have experienced:  but we can work through them.  We were never meant to dwell in the valley of the shadow of death, but pass through guided by the Good Shepherd.  Joy will come through our Savior as we walk in faith!

Our God promises times of refreshing by His grace.  How wonderful it is to dwell together with brethren in unity!  No man goes to war by himself, and God has not left us comfortless in the spiritual battle we find ourselves.  He has promised us the victory through Jesus Christ and has given us the Holy Spirit.  He has given us brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage, exhort, and travel with us through the hardships of this journey to everlasting glory.  The peace that God brings which passes understanding is just as real as the trouble life brings our way.  Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through Jesus!  Let us be valiant to love as Christ does, and always labor to edify one another faithfully.

Be Ready!

When I saw this shirt, I almost immediately asked for a picture of it.  When Nathan traveled up to Sydney, he bought this shirt from a Muslim salesmen at Paddy's Market.  There are an interesting mix of messages on display.

Is Jesus coming?  He has already come as a servant, a Savior who came to seek and save the lost.  After His resurrection, Christ ascended up to heaven where He remains at the right hand of the Father.  But scripture teaches us He will come again, this time as a conquering King.  Jesus says in Revelation 22:12, "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work."  Christians welcome the return of Christ because He will set up His rule upon this earth.  Those who reject Christ and refuse to repent for their sin will face the fierce wrath of God for eternity.  If they actually believed this, they would shake at the prospect of Christ's return.

The part of the shirt which really intrigues me is the ridiculous conclusion the shirt arrives at:  Jesus is coming, so "LOOK BUSY."  I would contend that "looking busy" will do nothing for those who have rejected Christ.  Have they been busy about HIS business?   Looking busy does not mean you are busy.  When I was a kid, everyone looked busy doing work when the teacher was in the class.  But as soon as the teacher stepped out of the room, it was not moments before kids were out of their seats, running around, and had someone posted as a lookout.  When the teacher returned everyone ran back to their desks, picked up their pencils, and tried to look as studious as possible.  Will God reward us for "looking busy" when He has commanded all men everywhere to repent?  Acts 17:30-31 reads, "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, ³¹ because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."

God knows exactly what we're about.  While we tend to focus on externals God looks upon the heart.  The Pharisees looked busy.  In fact, they appeared totally dedicated to God.  But when Christ spoke to them, He compared them to whitewashed tombs:  they appeared clean on the outside, but inside were dead rotting corpses.  Just looking busy is hypocrisy.  Matthew 24:45-51:  "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. ⁴⁷ Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. ⁴⁸ But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, ⁵¹ and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Jesus is coming, and let us be watchful, prayerful, obedient, faithful and sober.  Looking busy will not profit.  Invite God to do an inner work within so we will be enabled to live righteously as we ought.  Praise God for His warnings motivated by love for our good!  Let us urgently do good for God's glory, for it is for this purpose we have been redeemed.

Leading by Following

"Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses."

Deuteronomy 34:9

Leadership is a quality rarely understood according to the context of scripture.  People sometimes think to be a good leader one must be a visionary, be filled with confidence in his abilities, and in short be the best and brightest.  This is not true according to the biblical model.  In the Bible, the greatest leaders were always followers:  they followed God, and He gave them the wisdom and authority to fulfill their role as leaders.

A quick glance over the men who gained great power in the world were men who did not follow God.  They saw their rule as absolute, and their chief tactic to deal with opposition was systematic elimination.  Men like Hitler, Pol Pot, and Stalin were particularly brutal and violent towards all who could be considered a threat.  Because of their influence and the means available to them, they were able to exercise (though not fully!) ambition fueled by lust for power.  These leaders had thousands of men to do their bidding, men who would kill and even die for their loyalty.  But were these men great leaders?  NO.  Did they invest in leadership beyond themselves?  No.  Because they were led by the dictates of their own hearts they were delusional, power-hungry, sadistic, and murderous.  They were unqualified to lead because they would not be led.

Jesus is the perfect leader because He followed God perfectly.  We do not see Him seething with violence and seeking the destruction of the established government for self-promotion.  He operated continually according to His Father's will.  The focus of His leadership was not on Himself as leader, but His Father in heaven.  Moses did not have a "vision" of the future that governed his life God had given him:  he simply knew God and lived in obedience to Him.  Moses followed God, and God lead him faithfully.  A faithful leader as he is led by God leads others.  Interesting isn't it, that submission is a huge part of being a leader?

When the church needed more leaders, the existing leadership had simple qualifications.  Acts 6:3 reads,  "Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business..."  This was the same Spirit who enabled Jesus, Moses, and Joshua to lead.  He is the same Holy Spirit who leads, empowers, and enables us to be leaders for God's glory today.  Instead of self-promotion, sound leadership is Christ glorification.  As we follow Christ, we can lead others without fear.  We need not be suspicious, for our security is found in our Savior.  Faith in God reveals itself in meekness.

Isn't it great how God's ways are greater than ours?  Only God can use the foolish things to confound the wise, and in our weakness He is strong.  As we live out our allotted days ordained by God, let us be led by Him.  The better we submit to His lead the better leaders we will become.

Be Bold!

Too many of us Christians lament our lack of opportunity to impact the world for Christ.  By "opportunity" we mean an obvious, fool-proof plan laid out start to finish with no chance of failure.  My friends, this will never exist!  People who are wise in investments make their own opportunities.  While everyone else is reeling, scared to invest, and waiting for "something to happen," successful entrepreneurs manage to create a booming market!  After companies see the success they do their best to follow the formula, usually without success.  They didn't see the opportunity while it remained an option.  Should we choose inaction when we have the Holy Spirit of God?  Christians, there will be no easy opportunities.  Our flesh will resist stepping out in faith.  Satan will try to deceive us to justify why the time isn't right.  The whole world is under the sway of the devil, and we have a message contrary to the world!  We can be so overwhelmed by the scope of potential ministry we do nothing.  And that is the place where most of us have spent most of our lives.  We have missed opportunities because we never recognized them.

You may not be able to change the world today.  But can you help one person in Jesus' name?  That is how Jesus impacted the world - one person at a time!  He says if we offer a cup of cold water in His name we will not be without reward!  Are we willing offer a word of encouragement to someone who is down?  Can we visit one person who is lonely or send them a text message to say we are praying for them?  When we see someone laboring under a load of groceries could we offer help?  When we see someone sitting alone are we willing to sit near them and start a conversation?  We do not need to set goals beyond following the Holy Spirit as He leads us step by step.

Do you know a character trait God has given every Christian, regardless of age?  It is a quality rarely exercised.  You need not be muscular, energetic, handsome, tall, or of great spiritual maturity.  It is boldness!  The disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane before being filled with the Spirit did one of two things:  they ran away or lashed out with violence.  Boldness is a calm confidence a Christian has when he is filled with the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ.  We need not fight with people, nor must we run from conflict.  We can stand our ground, firmly rooted on Christ and the truth of His Word.  Sometimes boldness is opening our mouths when we don't want to say anything.  Other times boldness is saying nothing when we really want to speak!  A little old lady and a small child can have great boldness for Christ.  It will not always take the same form but will always be bourne of the same Spirit!

Some seem to feel that boldness means being rude and confrontational.  We are to contend with error, but we need not be contentious.  God will confront us to be sure, and sometimes He will give us a message not appreciated by those who want to remain insulated from conviction.  Let us make a decision to be bold today for the sake of Christ.  We should not see to fulfill any personal agenda or goal, like trying to get someone to come to church, hoping someone will like us, or to find acceptance.  Let's not limit what God can do though us!  Because we have been accepted by Christ, let us be bold to share that love with others.  People will know by our conduct and character that we have been with Christ.  Isn't that a reason we're living on earth right now?