Think About It

A couple weeks ago, just days apart 2 African American men have been shot by the police. The 1^st one took place in Tulsa, OK. The 2^nd happened close to home, Charlotte. The response has been the same…conflicting reports of what happened

I believe there are some great law enforcement officers out there. I know some great law enforcement officers and I grew up wanting to believe the police were ALWAYS in the right…what they said was the truth because police corruption ended once the 1960’s were over. But the truth is painful. A few years ago I watched a documentary on Katrina and it touched on the historic corruption of the New Orleans Police Department. Some law enforcement officers would carry a gun in a sandwich bag in their cars in case of police shooting. They called it a ham sandwich. After shooting an unarmed person they would place the gun at the scene as evidence that the shooting was justified. This happened as recent as 2005.

We must admit there is a problem and the real problem is not football players kneeling during the National Anthem or even destruction on I-85…these actions, right or wrong, are the result of the inequality that continues to exist in our culture and the failure of the majority to admit the problem exists. We are only looking at these shootings from our perspective. What do I mean? When a white individual is approached by a police officer the general experience is we follow the commands of the officer and nothing happens. The African American’s general experience is opposite. Going back to the time when lynching was common place, African Americans were put to death for not “being respectful” of a white person. Going back to the Civil Right's Movement, African Americans had dogs turned on them or fire hoses sprayed at them and the only thing they were guilty of was peacefully demonstrating as our Constitution allows. Even when they were “obedient” to the commands of law enforcement they were treated sub-human. These past experiences effect the way people react today. Generally, a white individual doesn’t get anxious when they see a police officer but the African American does. The police officer notices the anxiety and assumes the African American is anxious because they have done something wrong. When approached the anxiety causes a person to react in such a way to protect themselves which can come across as being combative. The police officer assumes the combativeness as resisting and things continue to escalate.   

As white people, we must recognize our experiences are vastly different than African Americans. That is a step towards something Dr. Whitesel writes in Organix, “No amount of empathy will keep a white male culture from acting in a way that comes off as superior, better, and privileged until that dominant culture is angered by its sin” (227).

Summer of ’77…those words may bring mixed emotions to anyone who lived in New York City during this time. It was the summer of the Son of Sam, as David Berkowitz continued his killing spree...It was also the time of the New York City Blackout. July 13, 1977 thunderstorms rolled through New York City resulting in 4 lighting strikes that left the power grid crippled. This was the beginning of 24 Hours of Terror, as the New York Post described it.

            To begin most people were in the streets or their home waiting for the power to return. In one part of the city things quickly went from bad to worse. One individual, who was a child at the time, remembers sitting in the apartment hearing, thuds & thumps as people began dragging new appliances up the stairs. Others said they began seeing groups of people ripping steel bars off the front of stores using ropes tied to car bumpers. Some of these people went in to get essentials, food for themselves, formula & diapers for their babies, others walked out w/ large television sets & stereo equipment. Then the mob mentality quickly escalated as fires were set, destroying blocks of buildings.

            This was in contrast to what was happening on the “fashionable” East Side, as a news story described it. The black out was party time. High-end restaurants began giving away free champagne. People who’d never met one another were having cookouts on rooftops. Those that could left the city for the Hamptons. The time there was described as “a lovely cool & delicious time.” In fact many people in these areas had no idea boroughs were being destroyed.

            As I heard these stories I couldn’t help but think, have our churches become like the ‘fashionable East Side,’ all kinds of parties but oblivious to the destruction happening right around us?

            Church it is time to move out of the fashionable East side…but we aren’t called to the “Hamptons” we are called to the hurting. May we never forget Jesus’ words in Luke 5:30-32: Those who are well have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. I have come not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance...And Matthew 19:10: For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

           

Private thoughts made public

What a contrast...In Zambia this past summer people would seek us out for a copy of The Bible...In America we are rejecting The Bible...In Zambia The Bible was a prized possession...In America it is a neglected artifact.

Words of Scripture led me out of 1 of the darkest periods of my life. It was during a time I misread & misinterrpreted many parts & saw God as He wasn't...I found God in The Word & it hurts to see people demeaning God & the very Words He has 'gifted' us.

After reading different articles, my heart is very heavy...it actually aches especially when 21 Christians out of Egypt were willing to die for what is becoming so rejected in our culture. Their deaths solidifies The Truth...their deaths are not in vain. Somehow some way their witness will penetrate even the most impenetrable places in this world...it could be the heart of someone here in the United States.

Lake of Death

California has always been linked with the idea of American possibility. It’s the sun-drenched place where you go to leave the stuffy, decaying old world for a new life. But not everything here is shiny, new and full of potential. Drive deep into the deserted corners of Southern California and you’ll find dreams that flickered to life briefly and then faded away. Places once destined for greatness that have disintegrated into modern ruins. These aren’t Wild West ghost towns but more recent vestiges of the 20th century (Sam Lubell - Exploring Modern Ruins in Souther California - New York Times - March 19th 2014).

            Instead of these places being the destination for thousands of vacationers, they have become the destination for people who call themselves urban explorers. Urban explorers go into & document places that have been abandoned. The subject of this article revolves around a place called The Salton Sea. Compared to some places explored this area is relatively young, being that it shot up in the 1950’s & 60’s & abandoned w/n 30 years.

            Why? The Salton Sea didn’t even exist until 1905, when the head gate of an irrigation canal became blocked. The solution was to create a new canal that happened to be very unstable & couldn’t handle the volume of water created by the Colorado River at flood stage resulting in the largest lake in the state of California. This is not what makes this lake so unique. What does is the lake sits well below sea level & is settled in a region w/ high concentrations of salt.

            This did not keep developers from building hotels, marina’s & yacht clubs, once it become feasible to install air condition in these places. What developers didn’t count on was the salt levels increasing at a fairly rapid rate. The results were algae, reduced the levels of oxygen causing fish to die & horrible smell running off any one who came to visit. Thus by the early 90’s most of the towns were abandoned creating an apocalyptic scene for urban explorers.

            What is it that caused this lake to ‘die?’ Part of it simply nature, The Salton Sea has no outflow, so what enters the lake remains in the lake. The other part is man made. The canals were built to create agricultural land that continued & continues to surround the area. When it does rain, run off containing salt from the soil, fertilizer & pesticides enters the lake…essentially feeding the death already present.   

            Scripture tells us that we are born with a sin nature. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. (Romans 7:18). By ourselves it is impossible to get rid of this poison.  Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin"? (Proverbs 20:9) And we live in a society that promotes sin, feeding our sin nature. 1 Timothy 6:9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

         Solution: a natural aquifer…like our pool I add substances to rid the water of the bad…On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ^z“If anyone thirsts, let him ^acome to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, ^bas⁶ the Scripture has said, ^c‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of ^dliving water.’ ” ³⁹ Now ^ethis he said about the Spirit, ^fwhom those who believed in him were to receive, ^gfor as yet the Spirit had not been ^hgiven, ⁱbecause Jesus was not yet glorified.

It not only cleansing w/n but we no longer feed death in society…we give life that doesn’t lead to an apocalyptic scene but ‘life to the full.’

Just at The Right Time

Recently New England was hit hard by a blizzard but it was nothing compared to The Perfect Storm in October 1991. This term, The Perfect Storm, was created by NOAA meteorologist Bob Case as he explained the events that created this devastating event. The first part was a Hurricane Grace that formed in the Atlantic. As it made its way up the eastern seaboard it merged w/ a low-pressure system. While the low tore the hurricane apart, its energy intensified the winds. As this was occurring a high-pressure system extended from the Gulf of Mexico to Greenland giving more destructive wind power. At its peak, a new hurricane briefly formed in the middle of the Nor’easter, creating a much wider path of destruction that produced 100 ft. waves, major coastal erosion & flooding, costing lives & millions of millions in property damage.  

            The Perfect Storm, an unlikely series of events that collide at the right time. This week I got to thinking about God’s timing. He is neither early or late but always right on time. Romans 5:6 – For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. “At the right time.” There may be 3 ways to look at this phrase (all similar).

                        1. It was the fit or proper time: all schemes had been

devised to meet the problems of the world & save people

from death. It was time for a better plan to be presents. 

2. It was the time fixed & appointed by God for the Messiah to come

3. It was the most favorable time for the spread of the gospel.

The 3^rd 1 I want to focus on. The world was expecting something to happen in Israel. All eyes were on Judea…the story of the wise men are evidence of this. And for the 1^st time the world was fairly peaceful under Roman rule plus the infrastructure they brought to the entire world made introducing the gospel easier than ever.

There is something else that isn’t readily noticed, the geographical significance of Israel. While Israel didn’t have a natural harbor, it was a land bridge linking Africa, Asia & Europe plus the Indian Ocean, by way Red Sea, w/ the Atlantic Ocean. This made multiple places in Israel a meeting ground for all different cultures. Once someone heard about Jesus or heard Jesus speak they became missionaries to their native lands. While Jesus never ventured outside of Israel, His words traveled far & wide.

            While God’s timing doesn’t always make sense, we have to remember GOD IS…GOD IS ALWAYS PRESENT…THERE IS NO PAST & FUTURE…AT THE RIGHT TIME GOD DIED FOR THE UNGODLY!