Almost a Nickel

If memory serves correctly (it still does once in a while), I have already posted my two cents worth regarding the current political melee. Since this is an additional comment on that subject, I figure I am up to "almost a nickel."

I have read or listened to many who are saying, in essence, that the only valid choice a biblical Christian has in this election is to vote for Trump. It is, at its bare bones, the insistence that no candidate is perfect but Trump will not do as much harm as Clinton so we are spiritually obligated to vote for him. The arguers of this stance even toss in scriptures, albeit none that specifically address the requirement to vote for the "lesser of two evils." However, they do postulate that their opinion is the authoritative word on the matter.

So, in an attempt to offer some balance, here are some scriptures to chew on ("meditate on" if that sounds more spiritual), beginning with three from Romans 14 (I am using different translations in an attempt to gain at least a measure of the criticism Rick Warren regularly receives.):

Romans 14:1 "Welcome those who are weak in faith, but do not argue with them about their personal opinions." (GNT)
Romans 14:4 "What right do you have to criticize someone else's servants? Only their Lord can decide if they are doing right, and the Lord will make sure that they do right." (CEV)
Romans 14:23 "Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." (ESV)
1 Corinthians 3:18-20 "Don't fool yourself. Don't think that you can be wise merely by being up-to-date with the times. Be God's fool—that's the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It's written in Scripture, 'He exposes the chicanery of the chic. the Master sees through the smoke screens of the know-it-alls." (MSG)
1 Corinthians 10:31 "Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (NIV)
2 Timothy 2:4 "As Christ's soldier, do not let yourself become tied up in worldly affairs, for then you cannot satisfy the one who has enlisted you in his army." (TLB)

What it boils down to, for me anyway, is this: I am seeking to be led by the Holy Spirit who convicts and convinces us of what is pleasing to God and I believe there are a lot of people trespassing on His territory.

P.S. Please, do not assume you know for whom I am or am not voting. This was not about the candidates at all but rather those who assume they are God's 2016 Presidential Election prophets.

Growing Pains

I do not like pain. Really. I do not like it. But they say pain serves a purpose: Pain tells us when something is wrong. Pain also occurs when drastic steps have been taken to fix something that was wrong. Everyone who has ever gone through major surgery understands this.

You face double the pain when the two come together and that is bound to happen for anyone seeking to live a Christlike life. First, there is the pain of identifying something specifically wrong with your life in spirit, thought, and/or deed. Sometimes the error is so deeply engrained that it is a tangible part of what defines you. Next is the pain that comes with making a clear, meaningful, and permanent correction. Then, and only then, healing and recovery can occur.

Here is an example in down-to-earth terms: 

1. We love God and we love our country.

2. No matter how many good people immigrate into our country, some bad ones slip in, too, and it only takes a few of the bad guys to do a lot of damage (witness 9-11-01).

3. A conflict arises (or should) when we seek to be Christlike but desire to "protect" our country by turning away immigrants because some might do us harm (rather than recognizing where our real safety lies as revealed in 2 Chronicles 7:14).

4. You have to make a decision to be totally Christlike or seek a worldly solution to national security. 

It isn't pretty but it is true. Denial only cancels the hope of change and healing.

Final note: I am not a fan of the modern Episcopal Church. But I do have respect for a recent stand they have taken and thank Tom Wiles* for sharing it. You can read it here.

*Tom Wiles is Executive Minister for the American Baptist Churches of Rhode Island. We were also roommates our Senior year at Oklahoma Baptist University. I had the great privilege of having his mother-in-law, Marilyn Bryant, as pianist when I served in my first staff position out of college at First Baptist Church, Lindsay, OK.

The YMPCA?

One of the benefits of living in this area is the ability to pay dues at one YMCA but being able to use any of them in Kitsap and Pierce Counties. There are currently a total of twelve facilities including camps, family Ys, etc. By and large, most folks have their favorite and that is the one they use. We have enjoyed using the "Y" but are now rethinking our membership.

Recently, "to demonstrate our commitment to our transgender community", the YMCAs of Kitsap and Pierce Counties created a policy allowing people to use whatever locker room (shower, changing, etc.) they identified with in their minds. They want us to be assured that they are taking steps to keep any sex offenders from abusing this.

Really? Consider the following: 1. The policy was created in April and only made public very recently; 2. There is no way to keep all sex offenders from abusing it, only known convicted sex offenders; 3. When a church member inquired about it just yesterday, the person at the front desk said she did not know anything about it.

A person observing this might come to the conclusion that the acronym, YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association), has secretly added the letter "P" to the middle of it and changed the formal name to the Young Men's Politically Correct Association. The "M" has apparently become just a nod to the old days when the physical body and chromosomes identified a person's gender rather than the person's current feelings.

Folks were encouraged by the "Y" to send their responses, etc. so I sent the following to the person I believe is the President and CEO of the YMCAs for the two counties:

Dear Bob Ecklund,

Please, know that you are being prayed for during these sensitive times of establishing, refining, enforcing, etc. new policies that are affected by sexual identification/orientation at the YMCA. Navigating the various laws and varying moral standards from different groups at times seems to be a "no win" situation since you can not possibly please everyone.

As a local Pastor, I understand the desire to have those who come be a reflection of the community. In the past year or two, we have seen something I did not anticipate: Lesbian, gays, and unmarried couples with children have been coming to our church. Some come into the worship service and some tend to hover outside the auditorium. In some cases, life circumstances have brought them to the church rather than a thirst for God's truth. Whatever brings them, we recognize our responsibility to love them and teach them God's truth without compromise.

It is my prayer that you will lead the YMCA to continue to be a place open to all people but without being governed or manipulated by any standards other than those God has given us in His word, the Bible.

In His love,

Jim Gantenbein

Jim Gantenbein, Pastor

Kitsap Lake Baptist Church

5802 Wilmont St

Bremerton WA 98312

(360) 373-7728

D.P.B.

(This is a true story that happened many years ago on a particular Sunday morning.)

The youth sat in a circle during "Large Group" time. On the table were milk and brownies. They learned the brownies were made from scratch, heard the list of ingredients, and something to the effect: "There is one more ingredient but there isn't much of it so it doesn't matter. So, who wants a brownie?" A couple of youth began to get up and move toward the table until one girl asked, "What's the other ingredient?" Upon repeating that there wasn't much of it so it didn't matter, she repeated the question. Those youth who had started to come and get a brownie sat down as others began to ask the question. After reading the original list of ingredients again, the unknown ingredient was revealed: "Dog poop." At first they didn't believe it but the worker whose dog contributed the ingredient confirmed the fact.

Thankfully, no one threw up. Astonishingly, one youth said, "I don't care. I'll eat them anyway!" He was even adamant. However, those brownies were disposed of without him eating any.

The point was clear (except to the one): Purity is lost with any amount of contamination. Some of those youth (and workers) still recall that illustration. It made some things very clear and it was not uncommon to hear a response of "dog poop brownies" whenever they heard something that just didn't sit right. It was quickly abbreviated to "D.P.B." as a way to communicate the meaning to each other without seeming vulgar to those who were unfamiliar with the whole story.

All of that to say this: Since videos of Planned Parenthood executives, doctors, etc. callously, even jokingly, talking about the business of murdering babies and selling their parts to eager customers, there has been a rising wave of people defending the industry because of all the other "good things" they do.

I've seen a number of posts defending Planned Parenthood from Facebook friends, including a relative or two, and even posts by one or two former youth. But I don't believe I've seen any by those who understood the truth of the D.P.B. I hope it will continue to impact them throughout their entire life.

And now, the rest of the story:

After we got rid of the contaminated brownies, I shared that they were made after I had made two uncontaminated batches. In fact, the contaminating ingredient wasn't even allowed in the house until the pure batches were mixed, baked, divided, placed on trays, sealed, and secured away from the D.P.B. 

Still, none of the youth would eat one (again, except the one). 

I asked, "Would it help if I ate one?" 

"Yes!"

I took one, took a bite, slowly chewed it (as they watched to see if I would throw up)…

and swallowed it.

They were satisfied and the brownies were gone in a heartbeat!

Decisions are so much easier when you have your heart set on purity. Sadly, there are so many people willing to eat the D.P.B. this world offers.

Liberate Yourself Politically

The wonderful people of Kitsap Lake Baptist Church in Bremerton know that I try hard to keep politics out of what we do as God's people. As a rule, I do not discuss politics. There are more important things.

Many years ago, I made a decision: I will no longer be aligned with any political party. That decision has produced numerous benefits. Here are a few:

• I am free from "loyalty" to any political party or agenda.
• Distinctions between a conservative political view and a biblical view become much clearer.
• The responsibility God places upon His own people to repent appears much greater.
• There are more prayers "for" than "against" (things, people, etc.).
• I am more inclined to search through information on all the candidates and issues to see who supports God's views instead of a political stance.
• I care much more about God's truth and much less about worldly ideologies.
• National patriotism is always subject to and filtered through patriotism to God's kingdom.
• Arrogance cloaked in false piety is quickly evident and disgusting…especially in myself.
• The two greatest commandments are more in our heads than in our lives.
• Satan loves politics.

Bonus:

• My "non-alignment" has made my involvement more meaningful.

Thanks For The Label But, No Thanks

I think Linus had reached the end of his his blanket with the non-sense dished out by others. I am sympathetic.

Cathy and I have raised three children. Though they are not quite perfect, I am more proud of them than I ever was of myself at their ages, and I would still give my life for any or all of them even if I totally disapproved of what they say or do. That includes my wonderful daughter-in-law. (I hope, someday, to have a son-in-law and another daughter-in-law added to that group.) By the way, whenever we disapprove of each other's actions, we never are afraid of each other. The love is always stronger than the faults. (Secret: We know God is real and that the Holy Spirit works to convict us of sin and convince us to change. We believe if people resist God's leading/urging but not our's, then something is probably wrong with us.)

My deep appreciation to all of you who do not question the love we have for our children nor criticize the values we maintain. It is probably safe to say that you know we have the same regard for all people.

Given that reality, it grieves me when any friends or acquaintances act on the apparent assumption that we are ignorant, fearful, and hateful because we do not agree with them or their stance on an issue. I think it says less about us than it does about them.

Without getting into a litany of individual sins, I believe sin is wrong and always separates us from God who can not look upon sin. That everyone sins does not negate the fact that we should not sin. The action that pleases God, when we sin, is confession and repentance. This is in stark contrast to tolerance. Tolerance is not agape love. Tolerance is loathing because it carries no hope for holiness.

Jesus said much about agape love. Two of those things were, "If you love me, keep my commandments," and the affirmation of "Love your neighbor as yourself." By placing God first—which does precede "love your neighbor as yourself"—I can properly love others.