Escape the Corruption (II Peter 1:4ff)

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For by these He has given to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

Blame it on lust.

James the half-brother of Jesus agreed with that. “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have, so you commit murder” (James 4:1-2).

Lust: uncontrolled desires of any kind. We can lust for food, power, money, sex, pleasures, friendship, and our neighbor’s lawn mower. A desire that was not necessarily bad in itself has now broken loose and sits in the driver’s seat calling the shots.

Lives are run and ruined by unrestrained passions.

A few years ago, Pope John Paul II created a minor furor in saying that lust has no place in marriage. All the johnny-one-notes in the world who refuse to think beyond the surface of anything jumped all over that. You would have thought he’d said that a man and woman must not have sexual appetites for each other.

Lust is a killer. It drove Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Saddam, Idi Amin, and a thousand others of their ilk. Lust drove Elvis, Errol Flynn, an uncle or two of mine, and probably someone you know.

It’s a cruel task-master.

A fellow gets a little taste of power over people and suddenly the appetite for control over the masses explodes within him.

She buys a few antiques to brighten up her home. Within days, the lust to own every beautiful chair and table she sees is all-consuming.

He drops in on a men’s club in the French Quarter. Until that day, he had lived without such bawdy entertainment in perfect contentment. Now, the desire for more sex in more exotic varieties eats away at his soul.

He takes a drink. She smokes a special cigarette. They pop a few pills. And they are gone. “Gotta have more.”

Lust is the culprit.

Corruption is the result.

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What We Know for Sure about Satan (I Peter 5:8-9)

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No one enjoys a good joke about the devil more than Satan himself.

He loves it when you tell one to make him out a buffoon or the warden of hell who welcomes in various evil-doers and sends them to their infernal rewards. He really gets a high when you make him out to be so outlandish that no one in his right mind would believe in such a goon.

The devil honestly does not care whether you believe in him or not. There is not a word in Scripture that says one has to believe in the devil in order for him to do his dastardly worst in them or through them.

Millions of people today scoff at the idea of Satan, then turn around and do his dirty work for him.

The people who believe most in Satan are God’s choice servants. They who do combat with him on a daily basis have no trouble acknowledging his reality. That’s why the Apostle Peter felt he should give this reminder to those who take seriously their discipleship:

Be of sober spirit. Be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

He’s out there. Watch out.

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How Cults Operate

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In 1939, American journalist Virginia Cowles went to Russia. Two years later, she wrote about what she saw in “Looking For Trouble.” (Readers of this website know that one of my favorite things is to find old books with fascinating first-person accounts of life during the Second World War. This one is as good as they come.)

After a few days of trying in vain to get Russians to talk with her, Cowles found out why they were afraid. Stalin had just killed untold millions of his own people for what he called anti-Communistic actions. Some of those actions were nothing more than studying a foreign language or befriending a foreigner. Consequently, people were afraid to speak to any stranger.

Cowles then gives us her analysis of life in that sad country:

The chief distinction between man and animal is the critical faculty of the human mind. In the Soviet Union–just as in Germany–the critical faculty was carefully exterminated, so that the mass might sweat out their existence as uncomplainingly as oxen, obedient to the tyranny of the day. Truth was a lost word. Minds were doped with distorted information until they became so sluggish they had not even the power to protest against their miserable conditions. The ‘Pravda’ never tired of revealing to its readers the iniquities of the outside world, always pointing (out) how blessed were the people of the Soviet Union.

This is precisely how religous cults operate. They cannot stand for their people to think for themselves, have independent opinions, or ask troublesome questions. Dissension is treated as rebellion and rebellion gets you ousted.

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Pastors: Finding the Balance

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The toughest assignment I’ve received in a while came not from an editor or a denominational exec but from a pastor’s wife.

In an e-mail this week, Sheri referred to our recent blog titled “A Pastor’s Heart: Like a Mother, A Shepherd, the Savior.” She left this comment at the end:

“My husband is a young pastor with a shepherd’s heart. But it would seem the churches we’ve ministered in do not appreciate that.”

“In our experience, the churches have been rebellious, stubborn, prideful and have refused to deal with sin. The pastors have not been supported (due to congregational models of church governance) by the denomination.”

She continued, “We switched denominations to an elder-type model and have found the same problems. I know that there are ‘good’ churches out there; but in our short 10 years of ministry/married life together, we have only served in one and even that one had struggles. The sheep do not want to be shepherded.”

She asks, “What does one do when dealing with ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing?’ What about when they are in leadership (elders of the church)? How does one blend the authority with the gentle heart of a shepherd? I would really love to hear wise perspective on these issues.”

I promised Sheri I would lay this before the Lord, which I have done. After responding to her last question–on finding the balance between strong firm leadership and gracious shepherding–I’d like to lay this before our readers. Give us your insights. Sheri will be reading this, and if I’m any judge, a lot of other pastors and spouses will also.

The first question that loomed large in my mind was: Who in Scripture is our role model for this? You will not be surprised at the answer.

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This Week’s Anti-Boredom Crusade

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All my life, I’ve had a low threshold for boredom. I don’t like being bored (which explains why I don’t do a lot of things) and I don’t like boring people–if I know it and can help it! And that explains a lot of my preaching, I suppose.

The Lord has wonderfully blessed my life with such variety that it prevents me from being stuck in a rut. My days are never the same and endlessly full of joy.

Take this week, for instance….

Sunday, I took a friend to church with me. He’s a new believer, even though he’s only a few years younger than me. I’m more or less introducing him to various churches. We talk about what to expect before we get there, I whisper to him a few times in the service (“That’s the visitor’s attendance slip; fill it out if you want to, but you don’t have to”), and I introduce him to people. When the pastor baptized last Sunday, I leaned over and remarked that “this is how we baptize, although every pastor does it pretty much his own way.”

We stood in the parking lot after church and talked about the sermon. The pastor had spoken on having a heart for God. My friend said it had really spoken to him. I said, “You know you can come back here any time you wish. You don’t need me with you.” He laughed. “Joe, going to church with you is like attending a baseball game with George Steinbrenner. You know everyone.”

I’ve smiled at that ever since.

Two days later, Steinbrenner made the front pages of the nation’s papers. A heart attack took him at the age of 80. People were falling all over themselves to praise him. Which is all right, of course. There’s little to be gained from saying that in addition to all those great things he did, Steinbrenner was brutal on those who worked for him.

One fellow said Steinbrenner fired him one night. “The secretary called me later and told me I was not fired, to come to work the next day. I came in at 9 o’clock instead of 8. George saw me and said, ‘This office starts work at 8 o’clock. Come in late again and you’re fired.'” Johnny One-note. It seems the only way he knew to motivate people was to threaten to terminate them. That’s sad, if you ask me.

That was Sunday. Then, on Monday….

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Wake-Up Call to God’s People (I Peter 4:17)

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For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

There is a misunderstanding loose in the congregations of many of our churches. Too many of the Lord’s people have gotten the idea that since our sins are forgiven and forgotten (Hebrews 10:17), since there is “therefore now no condemnation” (Romans 8:1), and since we have the Lord’s word that nothing can take us from the Savior’s hands (John 10:28-29), we are not accountable for anything.

Bad wrong. There is a judgment awaiting the children of God, too.

And I say to you that every careless (“idle” KJV) word that men shall speak, they shall render account for in the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:36)

For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. (Romans 14:10)

The promise of Scripture is not that believers will not face a judgment, only that they will not be condemned.

There is a comeuppance awaiting a lot of us. That’s what I Peter 4:17 is saying. (Among other things.)

I’m thinking of three people who have a rude awakening coming when they meet this Great Appointment that has been red-lettered in on God’s calendar:

Ruffin, the honcho who has torn up more churches than my friend Freddie Arnold ever started. Throwing his weight around, insisting on getting his way (otherwise, he’s taking his money somewhere else!), and running off preachers, Ruffin is not going to like what he hears when he comes face to face with Sheer Righteousness.

Loisetta, the sister who brutalized half the membership of her church with her antics. Sometimes it was slander against good people when she had found she could not control them. At other times she organized opposition to the pastor for introducing some new program. If it was good enough for her grandparents, it was sacred and should not be tampered with. Loisetta is about to meet up with the True Owner of the Church.

Fishence, who found ways to get rich from his church affiliation. He wormed his way onto the membership of boards and agencies, then insisted the executives throw business to his company if they wanted to keep their jobs. He asked contractors for donations to his church which he then diverted for his own use. Fishence is about to have his own books audited by the Great Accountant.

Just because you’re saved–if you are–you do not receive a pass-judgment-and-go-on-to-Park-Place free card.

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The Surprise Element (I Peter 4:4,12)

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I can’t think of surprises without hearing Gomer Pyle’s voice in my head: “Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!”

“In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation, and they malign you.” (I Peter 4:4)

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you.” (I Peter 4:12)

Buddy Mathis, a friend of years back, sent me “The Word,” a Bible in 26 translations which his company has published. (Mathis Publishers, Inc., POB 6685, Gulfport, MS 39506 I recommend this as the most unusual gift for a pastor!)

So, let’s read this “surprising” business and see how other translations put it regarding I Peter 4:4.

–Most translations make it, “Do not think it strange.” The root of the Greek word translated there is “xenos,” stranger or alien. So, this sounds right.

–The Phillips New Testament has it: “Indeed your former companions may think it very queer that you will no longer join with them….”

–Moffatt puts it: “It astonishes pagans that you will not plunge with them….”

And regarding I Peter 4:12, we find:

–The New English Bible: “Do not be bewildered….”

–Phillips: “I beg you not to be unduly alarmed….”

–TCNT: “Do not be astonished….”

The point of this, then, becomes: “Once you start following Jesus, your old friends will be stunned at the change. They might even become hostile toward you, for whatever reason. But don’t you be surprised and caught unaware by all of that, or by the real persecution that may be headed your way. Expect it. After all, you’re following a Lord who was crucified for nothing but serving God, loving people and speaking Truth.”

Let’s camp out on these two verses for a few minutes. They have much to say about those of us who are serious in our discipleship.

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What Drew Brees Knows: Adversity Can Be a Blessing

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The hottest book in town these days is not about vampires or witchcraft in an English boarding school. It’s a testimony of a Christian man who has the full attention of the football world at the moment.

The title of Saints quarterback Drew Brees’ just-off-the-press book is “Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the hidden power of adversity.” (His co-author is well-known Christian author and speaker Chris Fabry.)

All this morning, Drew Brees signed books at the local Barnes & Noble store. When someone asked me Friday if I intended to join the crowd for an autograph, I laughed at the idea.

This morning’s Times-Picayune says people started lining up last night at 4 pm to be first in line this morning at 9. The man has achieved rock star status, it would seem.

The title “Coming Back Stronger” carries a dual meaning. Primarily it refers to his near-career-ending surgery after the 2005 football season and his comeback to win the Super Bowl on February 7 of this year. But almost as strongly, it refers to the city of New Orleans which has come back (and is still returning) from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Odd that in the same week we have books hitting the stands from Coach Sean Payton (“Home Team”) and from Brees, his star quarterback.

If Payton’s book made us laugh and want to stand up and cheer, Brees’ book touches our hearts and strengthens our faith. Oddly, Brees’ book has more of the inside football dope on what plays were run and how they are called than the coach’s book does. But mostly, Brees writes about his love for the Lord and how God uses adversity in our lives to make us stronger and better and more effective.

Drew Brees is one of those natural athletes who even from childhood was the first one chosen for any team he played on–softball, baseball, basketball, volleyball, soccer. As a senior in high school, he led his team to the first state championship in their history. At Purdue University, he took the team to the Rose Bowl. In the pros, he was the Super Bowl MVP and star quarterback of the champion New Orleans Saints. A winner.

It’s all come easily for him, right? Ha. Not even close. The story of Drew Brees is one of adversity after adversity. Setbacks, disappointments, betrayals. And each time, getting back up and getting into the game and learning from what just happened.

Here is a short list.

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