Kenya is a surprising place. Leaving behind (July 8) a heat wave in Atlanta with temperatures in the high 90's each day, the equatorial environment of this African country was cool - even chilly at night with daytime temperatures in the middle 70's.
Ministry, there, was extraordinary - to be described elsewhere. Many people were helped with physical and spiritual vision - a week of good works and service.
One question continues to force itself upon me: Are Kenyan orphanages a means of reviving an inverted feudalism?
"Orphan!" the word melts the heart and opens the bank accounts of Christian America (and elsewhere, I am sure...). And well it should. The apostolic command of James should resonate in our hearts at all times. "The fatherless and widows are to be helped in their difficult circumstances." James 1:27. However, it appears that there is evidence that the word "orphan" has become the means for some in Kenya to gain wealth and power and large tracts of land that can be used to leverage their government. Of course, the "investor" mentality of many wealthy people in this country maintains the steady stream of money flowing through the fingers of these feudal lords. Interesting that the word "orphan" blinds the "investors" to the fundamental investment safeguard...diversified portfolio!
It is certainly too soon to tell how the new feudal system will develop. The old narrow gauge railroad tracks of 19th century British East Africa are no longer useful as they stitch together the districts of this surprising country. However, they are a testimony to the power of feudalism in a land and among a people that is very susceptible to this style of exploitation. Some of the new landed aristocracy in Kenya has a cash crop that appeals to the modern people groups that have traded human fertility for gadgetry and wealth; have abandoned large families in favor of comfort and variety of entertainment. Ultimately, is the support of this feudalism a way to assuage the guilt of contraception?
Yes, thank you Jesus, there are children being rescued from terrible circumstances. Yes, thy are being fed and clothed and housed...schooled and loved and worked. Who will they be when they grow up? Grist for the mill of feudalism or free workers in a free nation?
Kenya is a surprising place. They grow beautiful fences of cane and bougainvillea. They grow children with large hearts and wonderful smiles. Above all else, they need to grow in wisdom through the power of the cross of Jesus. They have their own wealth in their land and in their people.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Jesus is Lord of Hosts...no demotion possible.
I was born in January, 1954. Normal human gestation is approximately 40 weeks. If you do the math, then it is impossible to trace my conception to a date before 1 April 1953. As far as I am concerned, God had no dealings with me as a person, entity or being of any sort from the early months of 1953 to the first day of creation and beyond.
Now, why in the world am I writing about such things? It has occurred to me that there are people that have a bizarre idea of reality which prompts them to feel that, since they NOW exist, then they have ALWAYS existed. This illusory feeling prompts some people to think that such absurd teaching as Calvinism -- the teaching that God preselected them before He created anything -- is a valid expression of the mode by which Jesus saves sinners. The problem they don't want to confront in their theology is that it demotes Jesus from being God and establishes God as someone who never DOES anything. The real God of the universe (His name is Jesus) gets dirty, sweaty, bloody, etc., in order to accomplish that which He desires. If this is not true, then the cross is meaningless and Calvinism/evolutionism (think it through clearly and you can see that they are the same thing) is a valid expression of reality. In other words, Calvinist theology builds a picture of a god who is nothing more than everythingness = evolutionism.
I have limits and I did NOT exist before my biological parents activated that bizarre but wonderful invention of the Creator God to bring about a new person, circa April, 1953. Years later, I found that my Heavenly Father had established a way for me to come into a relationship with Him through Jesus, His only begotten Son. I met Jesus at the cross, a place He visited in the reality of 1st century Jerusalem and continues to meet anyone who wants to come to Him, so long as there is time. Revelation 10:5-7
Now, why in the world am I writing about such things? It has occurred to me that there are people that have a bizarre idea of reality which prompts them to feel that, since they NOW exist, then they have ALWAYS existed. This illusory feeling prompts some people to think that such absurd teaching as Calvinism -- the teaching that God preselected them before He created anything -- is a valid expression of the mode by which Jesus saves sinners. The problem they don't want to confront in their theology is that it demotes Jesus from being God and establishes God as someone who never DOES anything. The real God of the universe (His name is Jesus) gets dirty, sweaty, bloody, etc., in order to accomplish that which He desires. If this is not true, then the cross is meaningless and Calvinism/evolutionism (think it through clearly and you can see that they are the same thing) is a valid expression of reality. In other words, Calvinist theology builds a picture of a god who is nothing more than everythingness = evolutionism.
I have limits and I did NOT exist before my biological parents activated that bizarre but wonderful invention of the Creator God to bring about a new person, circa April, 1953. Years later, I found that my Heavenly Father had established a way for me to come into a relationship with Him through Jesus, His only begotten Son. I met Jesus at the cross, a place He visited in the reality of 1st century Jerusalem and continues to meet anyone who wants to come to Him, so long as there is time. Revelation 10:5-7
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Time allows us to get ready.
Revelation 1:7
What part of “every eye shall see Him” do you pre-trib folks not get? “Every Eye” means that the return of Jesus happens once and constitutes the first wave of judgment. Those “left behind” have been judged because Jesus is rescuing those of us who have come to the cross. He then comes down to the earth to destroy those who are judged. (Hal Lindsey and Tim Lahaye are wrong! The Bible teaches that the Great Tribulation belongs to the church!) Since tribulation is largely deception then the great tribulation is ultimate deception. If you don’t know the real Jesus when it starts, you will be in deep trouble when it is over. The depth of that abyss called Hell is measurable by how many thousands of angels it was designed for: a fire-pit for their eternal habitation. Humans don’t belong there but can go there if they choose. Come to the cross!
Revelation 1:8
A note about the symbols used throughout the book of Revelation is in order here. Please don’t think that the symbols are going to appear to those of us who meet them in the FORM they are given in the book! The serpent/dragon (chapter 12) will no more appear as a serpent than a church will look like a candlestick/lampstand. The thing symbolized (beast in chapter 13, for example) may well appear on earth as the most wonderful or desirable condition imaginable to mankind. God is telling you in advance what its true character is by means of the symbol.
Revelation 1:8
Alpha and Omega. John echoes the first verse of Genesis (in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth) in a number of places – John 1:1, John , I John 1:1, III John 1:6, Revelation . He seems to be reminding us of something that we are especially in danger of ignoring. In an age that teaches evolutionism (or amillennial utopian pipedreams of certain Calvinists), it is difficult to hold true to the teaching that the beginning demands and end. Believe in the beginning…prepare for the end.
Revelation 1:9
John is our brother in the tribulation. This seems to be a curious form of brotherhood. It is certainly not the type any of us would choose to emphasize. Many Christians have very bad notions about trials (another word for tribulation) that are based on bad preaching and teaching about Christians being exempt from them. Jesus promises trials. They will come so long as we are in the world (John ). There are certainly different levels of trials – including the greatest trial that comes upon the church at the end (Tim LaHaye is wrong folks. Throw away his misleading fictional –how hard is it to understand that FICTION is not true-- books) John puts “trial” in company with “kingdom” and “patience” (or endurance) of Jesus. Don’t forget the military duty of the kingdom. Stand up for Jesus!
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