Meaning

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all enjoy your time this year, I'll be taking a short vacation and returning after the new year on January 5^th! Thanks for reading and I'll see you next year!

     Where are you this Christmas? More to the point, where is your heart? Are you caught up in the celebrations? Do the silver bells chime in your mind as you drive to the store to get those last few gifts? Do carols ring as you trim your tree? In all your rush and busy, do take the time to remember why we do all of this? Debates over the origins of the day itself, this holiday is here to commemorate the second biggest event in earth's history; when God himself stooped to our level and came to us.

     Think about that for a moment. The God of all existence, who is far beyond anything we can truly comprehend, who is rightful ruler and master of all creation, who had sat in glory from eternity past, who is endlessly praised by uncounted angels, became a baby boy. He who had sat on the throne of heaven now lay nestled in a simple manger. He who was needed no other now depended on a peasant girl and a carpenter. The God who provides breath and life to every living creature now would need bread from the hand of man. He left all that He had and became one of us: a small, cold, helpless infant. Why?

     Why would He put aside all that He had, all that He deserved, and come here as He did? Because He chose to, because we needed Him to. God is infinite, holy, and righteous. We are finite, simple, and sinful. Every day we choose our doom by rejecting God and making our own path. We are -not- morally neutral, we are naturally God haters and sinners. Can you go one day without lying? One day without stretching the truth? One day without being selfish? One day without being perfectly loving? Caring? Honest? One hour? One minute? The world wants to say that we're all ok. The world will tell you that at least you're better than that guy over there. Hey, you're no Hitler right? But you are. We are all capable of anything given the right “reason.” God was fully within His right to simply scrap us and start over (or not for that matter), but He didn't. He spared us, because He loves us.

     God however, is not only love. God is love but He is so much more! He is also just and because of His justice, He couldn't simply sweep our transgressions under the rug of eternity. Someone had to pay the price of sin and the price of sin is death. We can't pay that price, when we die that's it, end of the road. So in order to fulfill His love -and- His justice, God needed a sacrifice for our sins. Unfortunately there is nothing that exists in creation that has such worth as to be an even trade for the punishment that is our due. The only thing with any real worth after all, is God Himself. So God's son, the second part of the trinity, that divine personality that we also know as the Word of God, that One who formed the world itself, shed His robes of glory and put on humility. For us.

     Only God could pay the price that He himself demanded for our sin. Only God has the power to be born of a virgin and thus apart from the nature of sin that now condemns us. Only God has the power to live a sinless life and fulfill the law, and thus able to provide His people with the same. Only God has the worth to cover the cost of our iniquity, and only God could raise from the dead and defeat the grave. The story of Christmas is a fantastic story but it is only the first chapter. Never forget that the little baby in the stable was already on the road to the cross. Remember to celebrate not just -that- Jesus came but why! That little newborn baby was as newborn lamb and His time on this earth the period of examination that marked Him a worthy sacrifice.

     I love Christmas, but the story of Christ's coming to earth means little apart from the story of how He left and how He lived. I thank the Lord for coming here but I thank Him forever for coming here as a lamb to be slaughtered. I am thankful that the blood of Jesus cleanses me from my sin and that the snow on the ground this holiday season is nowhere near as white and pure as the new garment of righteousness that Christ has laid upon my back. Praise God for what He as done for His creation, for His love and His sacrifice. Never forget that the love we feel at Christmas is God's love, and the joy we feel is because the coming of Christ is the coming of a savior.

In Every Way

     I think we can say at this point that the Christmas “season” has officially started, we're past Thanksgiving and December is here. Many of us have started decorating and others have long since finished. I'm happy because unlike some previous years I feel like I am actually able to enjoy it all this time. I sometimes feel like its an unfortunate bi-product of adulthood that much of the magic of the holidays is swallowed up in work and life and errands and preparation.

     Part of my issue with previous years is the fact that one of my jobs is in retail. Anyone who works in that environment can tell you that it is difficult to maintain the “Christmas spirit” when the season is two months longer than it is for everyone else. When decorations and products hit the shelves in October it tends to kill some of the magic. If nothing else simply being around it all for so long tends to make it lose its charm by the time Christmas actually arrives. Not to mention having to listen to the same several songs over and over and over and over and over until you're willing to listen to anything -anything- else can be frustrating to say the least.

     This was, as I said, a major issue for me in past years. I simply found it quite difficult to keep any sort of enjoyment or excitement going for so long a period or even at all. Compound that issue with the fact that the songs I heard at work were usually the worst possible Christmas songs they could have found (don't even get me started on “Santa Baby”.) What really grated my nerves though was very same thing that irritates me every Easter; namely the preponderance of movies, songs, and TV shows “celebrating” Christmas, that are produced by people who obviously don't believe the Bible. I used to grumble at these people and wonder how could they possible sing or act about a topic that they don't hold to be true. How could they support something they don't believe in? In addition there is the whole problem of Christmas's real meaning not being supported much by society in general. This all weighed on me every year until a passage of scripture came to my mind while I was grumbling:

“Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from good will: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.”

(Philippians 1:15-18)

     I realized than that it doesn't matter that these people may or may not believe. It doesn't matter that so many people mangle or ignore the whole reason for the season. It doesn't matter that a fictitious fat man in red has taken the place of a baby in a manger in the minds of many. The story of God's Son coming to earth is out there! A crucial point in God's redemptive plan is freely available everywhere for everyone to see for months every year, and even the fictions that swamp us give those of us who believe an opportunity to spread the Word. What used to be an annoyance has become a source of joy! Paul was telling us that it does not ultimately matter how God's Word get's told so long as it does get told. So I'll sing along to the Christmas songs (not all of them, again, do not bring up “Santa Baby”...or “Last Christmas” for that matter) and I'll help with the decorations, because I'll also tell people about the miracle of deity wrapped in humanity and the story of the Savior.

Merry Christmas!

That Which Matters Most

“All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.”

(Psalms 25:10)

“But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.”

(Psalms 86:15)

“Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

(John 14:6)

“Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

(John 18:37)

     I've heard it said, and quite recently, that the true message of Christianity is love, peace, and forgiveness. Isn't that a beautiful sentiment? Truly one of the most amazing things about what God has done for us is that He has loved us apart from -and indeed despite of- all the evils we have done. That being said, is love and all that really the central message and purpose of Christianity? From my perspective, I'd have to say no.

     Love is important, very important. Without love we would all have been cast down by the righteous fury of God long, long ago. Love is what spared our lives and saved our souls. Love is what brought Christ down from heaven in the form of a man to die for us. Understanding God's love for us goes a long way in explaining the pattern of history. Verse after verse of scripture is dedicated to God's love for His creation and our love for Him and each other. Their is a whole chapter devoted to love in the new testament and a whole book in the old about love! Yet love has its limits.

     Love is only good when it is informed by the truth. The less truth and knowledge we have the more superficial love becomes and the more we undermine its power. What good does it do to “love” someone and ignore their sin? How much benefit does someone get from being cared for, if we never share with them the gospel? God loves us and cares about love, but He cares about truth more. Think about it: sin was started, not with an unloving act, but with a lie. When the serpent tempted Eve it didn't batter her and stuff the fruit down her throat, it lied. The truth was warped and broken and cast aside and that act is what ultimately began humanity's descent into shadow.

     We must uphold the truth. If we do nothing else, this we must do. If we allow false teachers to degrade the message than people will not be truly saved. If they listen to lies and fictions about God, how will anyone come to know Him? If we allow the unskilled, ungifted, and untaught to steer our beliefs what will be the meaning of any of our confessions? Do you think God cares that we are sincere if we are sincerely wrong? Remember, we are called to abstain from idols and to worship only the true God. Idols can be made from many materials, including ideas. Those who teach falsely are not just errant preachers they are holding up a God that is not God, an idol.

     It is important that we love. Though love without knowledge and truth is powerless and ultimately pointless, truth without love is harsh, unforgiving, and merciless. We cannot allow a desire to love others to blind us to lies and to allow the existence of false teaching and pagan doctrine. We must confront these evils with love and a desire to save those captured by them. Love will save no one if uninformed and truth will condemn everyone unless softened by love.

“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ...”

(Philippians 1:9-10)

Which Way?

The path we walk is narrow

With no walls to mark the sides

The trail often twists and turns

Like the best of theme park rides.

How are we to know the way?

And how are we to stay,

Upon the one and only path

That leads to brighter days?

How can we know with surety

The truth of any thing?

When all around us people claim

That truth is anything?

Are they all right?

Is every thought and dream

Equally true?

Can I hold to my own musings

And still find my way to You?

And what about this “narrow gate”

You talk about in Luke?

Did You mean the way was slim and small

Or was it just a fluke?

If truth means this is right

And that this other thing is wrong,

How can we think that every thought

Can equally belong?

If Jesus claimed to be the way,

The truth and to be light,

How can He we say He wasn't

and still think we'll be alright?

by. Jonathan E. Schaefer

11/12/2014

The Forest for the Trees

     Let's be honest for a moment here, Christianity does not have the best public image; at least not here in the US. To many people, we are the embodiment of intolerance and closed-minded, bigoted, and superstitious belief. They see us a simple-minded holdouts of a time gone by, long since left behind by those with discerning minds. Anti-science, anti-thought, and anti-love are the labels many would place upon us. We have not, for the most part, done much to help this image.

     Many modern day “Christians” spend a great deal of time blasting other groups and other people, hammering away at them and shoving the Bible in their faces. They do not care for the souls of others, only that those evil sinners stop making their lives so uncomfortable. They are crass and rude and belligerent and do nothing to progress the cause of Christ. Let's be honest once more, would you willingly seek out the faith held by these people? Would someone screaming in your face at the grocery store really convince you of the truths of scripture? Is it not more likely that these people who blithely use the name of our Lord and become indignant and preachy at the slightest offense, push people further from God?

     Worse still are those far from truth who claim it still. People like the members of the Westboro Baptist Church who seem to have no love at all, or the “name it and claim it” groups who turn God into a servant of man. People who claim the name of Christ but are not known to Him. These people parade the image of the people of God before the firing line of society. The world see's them, see's their hatred and their cold facade, their greed and materialism, and that image bleeds across everyone who calls themselves a Christian. God is just yes, but He is also love. Any message of judgment must come through the voice of one who desperately yearns for the salvation of the damned! God does not find joy in killing off the evil or the sinful (Ezekiel 33:11) rather He desires that all would be saved. These people and these groups lift up an image of Christianity that is heartless and mean, devoid of any attractive features, or who is weak and subject to the whim of his followers. Again, how likely is it that anyone will hear this message and truly repent? How will they see the love of God who longs to forgive if those who are supposedly His people lack all forgiveness?

     Don't get me wrong, this is not a popularity contest. Christians -real Christians- will be hated by the world (John 15:20). A sinful world cannot and will not accept a message that says that it must change. That being said, we must be sure that we are accurately displaying and relaying the message of God to those around us. God is just but He is also the justifier. He is the judge who condemns and who has mercy. He is the sword and the sacrifice. Real biblical Christianity is to so many, lost in a fog of falsehood; hidden behind a crowd of inaccurate teaching and unbiblical behavior. We must stand strong and show the world the Christ of the Scriptures. We must stand against false teachers and preach the truth of God in our land. People need to hear the words of God and if we must shout to be heard above the din then so be it. If we must risk our lives by standing above the foxholes then that is what we must do. Eternity lies before us, whether in heaven or in hell. Let those who reject Christ reject the real Christ of Scripture. Show Him to the world that hope may be found.

“As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.”

(1 Corinthians 15:48-49)

More Than Humanity: A Higher Perspective

     Society all around us is fractured, some would say failing. Our husbands and fathers have become lazy buffoons ripe for parody and mockery. Our wives and mothers are overworked, cynical and depressed; unwilling to fully trust their men and doubtful that they should at all. Our children and teens are jaded, rebellious, narcissistic, and corrupt; unable or unwilling to see past their smart-phones or the opinions of their peers. And in between them all we have an army of the young and unwed, obsessed with themselves and their desires, oblivious to any higher calling and suspicious of anything that claims to be true. These people, our people, need help. This world needs something more than what we see.

     At the heart of this problem is, of course, sin. Mankind will always desire to do what satisfies the flesh rather than what is truly good; all we need is the chance. Every one of us has the potential to be the abusive husband or the cheating wife or rebellious child or whatever. We sin, not just because we have to, but because we want to. The reason these ills seem “more” prevalent now is that we have simply given people the opportunity to sin in greater amounts and more freely than ever before. The proposal and rapid acceptance of naturalistic evolution and the advent of “higher criticism” have made it easier and easier to reject God and His Word. We have “science” telling us that God didn't create and so we can ignore the arguments the Bible makes without even reading them. Those who do read them, find that the critics tear them apart so much as make them seem to lose all meaning.

     We once lived in a society -in a world- where you had no choice but to at least consider the possibility of God. Creation screamed at you, the preacher spoke to you, the Spirit whispered to you, and all the world tried to be “good people.” Things are different now aren't they? Creation has been muzzled and painted over with a landscape of death and change, the preacher has been compromised and spends more time building his flock than actually teaching them (not to mention that virtually no one goes to listen anymore but those who already believe), and all the world sings to the tune of “just follow your heart.” Never mind that God tells us in Jeremiah 17:9 that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked...” Those who we trust with leadership have put forth an immense amount of effort to drive our view earthward, away from the sky and the Son.

     We need to recapture eternity. Our lack of perspective has given people the means they need to pursue their sins. Their is no 'ever-after' so find all the joy you can today, right? There's no judge to make the rules so you decide how to play the game, it's your game after all isn't it? No one made us this way, so we can be whatever we want to be and be with whoever we want to be with. There is no right and wrong only mine and yours. If all we have to look at is the ground around us, is it any surprise that our worldviews have gotten so muddy? When God is on His throne and in His proper place in our minds, we see things as they should be. Our actions have consequence and meaning because they will echo in eternity, who we are matters because He has fashioned us for a purpose, and what we do matters because reality reflects the very nature of its Creator.

     God is more than just a crutch for hard times. He is more than just a nice thought on holidays or a cultural hold-over. God is the very thing that gives our lives meaning and worth. If there is no God then there is no law-giver for reality. If there is no law-giver then there is no objective law by which to differentiate good and evil. If there is no good and no evil then nothing we do can rightfully be condemned. If we make the rules then every argument is simply a matter of survival of the fittest and our future will be nothing but cannibalism, as we devour each other in our effort to have things our own way.

The Ghost in My Pocket

     Have you ever stopped to wonder what it means to commune with God? Have you pondered how we can have any meaningful relation with a being so far beyond us? Beyond even that, He already knows everything so how can our relationship progress? Aren't our relationships built on shared experiences and a growing knowledge of each other that is built over time? This is true of our earthly relationships but the way in which we interact with our heavenly Father is, shall we say, a bit different.

“I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray.”

(Psalms 17:6)

     First off, yes, God does already know everything. This of course includes what we are thinking and feeling and everything we are going to say. The relationship we have with Him grows not by a greater understanding on His part but of one on ours. As we seek the Father in His Word and through prayer it draws us closer to Him. I imagine that God gets much joy in those moments when we see some new and glorious aspect of Him for the first time, or when some biblical truth finally makes sense to us. God's understanding of us is perfect and always has been, but we will never stop learning more about His infinite character; there will always be some new aspect to His personality or some fresh insight into His being to excite us.

“No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love has been brought to full expression through us. And God has given us His Spirit as proof that we live in Him and He in us.”

(1 John 4:12-13)

     More interesting still is the fact that unlike our earthly relationships, God is literally within us. The Holy Spirit dwells in the heart of every Christian, strengthening and guiding us along our journey. The Bible tells us that He communicates to the Father on our behalf, communicating better than we can the things we need from Him. God has placed Himself within us which means -among other things- that God experiences our lives right along with us. This is a wondrous thing because it means that God doesn't understand us simply because He is all knowing, but because He feels what we feel! The Holy Spirit acts not as a helper that pokes us along but as a force from within. He accompanies us and lends us strength through every moment of every day. He is there when we wake and when we sleep, when we pray and when we read, when we face challenges and when we accomplish much, He is there when we rejoice and when we cry. Our relationship with Him is guided by Him from without and within making His understanding perfect in all ways.

     Finally, we come to Jesus; God in flesh who not only died for our sins but lived for us as well. Often overlooked is the fact that Christ lived a perfect life on our behalf just as much as He died on our behalf. He lived through a human life -day by day- just like we have to, in order that it may be known that He fully understands. Beyond that His perfect life is accounted to us, exchanging our sinful lives for His perfect one. In God's plan He has made sure that our relationship with Him will have no gaps, no breaches in the wall.

“Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another; to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.”

(Romans 7:4)

     It may seem strange to have a real relationship with someone that we never see or hear or touch, but in truth, our relationship with God is the most real thing we will ever experience. He is with us from birth till death, in every moment and every experience. He's more than an invisible friend or a comforting thought; more than something we bring out to impress our friends or sure up our courage during difficult times. He is not a ghost in our pocket, He is the companion of our soul.

The Three Loves

     It's complicated being human. We are a roiling storm of thoughts, emotions, beliefs, information, and intuition. Being a Christian is even more complex as we take the whole confusing mess and throw spirituality and eternity into it! What can we say about ourselves that has any concrete meaning? How can we understand ourselves in light of our short comings and limitations? How can we describe our ever stumbling quest to do what is right? How about with a quote from Augustine?

“There are two kinds of loves within me. There is the love which loves the good, there is the love which loves the evil, and the best thing I can say about myself is that there is a third kind of a passion that looks at both of them. I have a love that loves the love that loves the good and I have a hate that hates the love that loves the evil.”

(This may be paraphrased as I have been unable to find a direct quotation)

     Do you see what He means? In all of us there is a love, a part of our being, that loves good. We desire to be good people and do good things. We desire to do right before God and to follow His will. We spend hours and days and months and years striving for one step closer to perfection. We praise the good in others and do our best to support them. All of this time and energy spent because there is a part of us that years for righteousness. We are a tainted fallen creation but in our blood is the echo of a memory, a shadow of remembrance of a time now lost when God was here with us and all was as it should be. We love that good memory and the pinpoints of light that we see in this life.

     Yet there is a another passion within us. Beyond our desire for the good and the great is a desire for the evil and the base. A man's desire for his wife is muddied by a wandering lust he cannot seem to control or a woman's desire for beauty is tainted by pride. As much as we love and praise the good in this life we truly desire that which we know is wrong. How much of our culture is focused on sex, greed, murder, revenge, covetousness, and more? We cannot deny that we have a desire, an open want, for the shadows and the dark. We like to think that we are all so civilized but we are lions in a cage and on a leash. The walls of our carefully constructed societies are all that keep us from turning on each other.

     Here then is the only really good thing we can say about ourselves: apart from the two base passions that run within us, there is a third perspective. This third part of ourselves looks at the other two and passes judgment. This third part, this part given -I think- by God, cheers for the love that desires good and rails against the love that desires evil. Paul said something similar:

“I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. But I can't help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things. I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't. When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. But if I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it. It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.”

(Romans 7:15-25 NLT)

     What then do we do? As always, we pray and seek God in this difficult thing. We nurture that passion that loves good and we do our best to starve the passion that loves evil. We will never be free from temptation and sin while we still walk in this world but we can fight and repent when we make the wrong choice. We must never lose ourselves in our sorrow over sin but use our evils as reminders of the glory of the God so good as to forgive us. We may never be perfect until eternity but we can fight and we can pray and we can try.

To See and Believe

You say I haven't faith to see,

the light of God alive in me.

You say I lack a truer heart

and belief that sets a soul apart.

You say if I would only pray,

throw all I think I know away,

and use my heart and not my head,

I'd find myself now Spirit lead!

I'd speak the language angels use,

the Holy Ghost would be my muse!

I could raise the dead and heal the sick,

God's power cutting to the quick.

You say that every sinner's heart

would be redeemed, a brand new start.

If only they could see God's power

they'd all repent this very hour.

and yet,

The Bible tells it differently.

There's evidence for all to see!

In this world created, though torn with strife

and in the power of a new-made life.

I've seen the power of God above,

I've seen His unimaginable love.

It's not in gifts of tounges or health.

It's in the Word and in myself

The power of God is plainly shown

in Christ and how His death alone,

has paid for every sinner's soul,

a sacrifice to make men whole.

If men won't listen to His Word,

if they reject what they have heard,

no cosmic show will bring them down,

to submit themselves to Jesus' crown.

I need no other evidence,

the gospel will suffice.

For my soul was bonded once to hell,

and Jesus paid the price.

by. Jonathan E. Schaefer

10/17/2014

I Believe in Miracles

     I think its safe to say that most everyone's favorite passages in the Bible are the ones concerned with miracles, and why not? We love to hear the old stories of Israel's crossing of the Red Sea and of the Jordan river, of the dead brought to life, the sick healed, of talking donkeys, floating ax heads and a stopped sun. We love to be reminded that God is powerful and has absolute control over the universe. Can this interest go too far though? What does the Bible tell us about the miraculous and how can we apply it today?

     Firstly, and I know I'm not making any friends with some when I say this, miracles are pretty much gone in our modern age. I am well aware that there is a large and active community of people who spend a lot of energy seeking after miracles and believe that they are a part of any legitimate ministry and in the life of the body of Christ. The problem with that idea is that it ignores the fact that miracles were never normative. There was never a period when when every Tom, Dick, and Harry were throwing around sings and wonders. Miracles were always purposeful and specific, never random or whimsical. Look to the Old Testament, miracles were strictly confined to those few men who were designated as prophets sent from God and the miracles they performed were secondary acts meant to attest to the validity of their teaching; serving as a beacon to guide people to the prophet's words (really God's words). Miracles such as the parting of the Red Sea were partly pragmatic and meant to prove God's power to His people (and Egypt for that matter) and to facilitate God's plan of freeing Israel from their bondage as well as -again- serving as evidence that Moses was God's man in that day.

“Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, "See, your son lives!" Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth."

(1 Kings 17:22-24)(emphasis mine)

     Cut to the New Testament. Many years have passed and God is moving His redemptive plan on to the next phase and so this means that miracles now serve the purpose of...attesting to the validity of prophets and teachers. Nothing changed! Jesus' own miracles were there to prove His God-hood, and the apostles were able to perform the miracles they performed to once again prove their status as the chosen teachers of God. If every believer at the time were going around raising the dead or healing the sick don't you think that somewhere in the all the New Testament books we would read about...any of them? Over the course of the book of Acts we see the recounting of miracles dwindle and disappear well before the end of the book. The only miraculous events we see happening to your everyday early church member is speaking in tongues, but those are Red Sea miracles, pragmatic ones that served to prove that those people were indeed saved by God and a part of His church. Especially in the case of the gentile believers as without a sign the Jewish brethren may not have accepted them given their long separation and dislike. We read that signs are not meant for those who believe, but to show proof to those who don't, and that the best gifts are teaching and understanding and prophecy (which is just the taking of God's words to His people, the words we have now of course are found in the Bible).

“Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.”

(1 Corinthians 14:22)

     Modern day “miracles” seem only to work to show how spiritual the person performing them is, to prove they have reached that next plain of spirituality. In fact they have more to do with ancient Gnosticism (where it was believed secret truths would be revealed to the spiritual elite) than Biblical Christianity. The miraculous is never held up as something to be continually desired or searched for, in fact the Bible often praises those who do not require a sign and condemns those who do!

“Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; "and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. "A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." And He left them and departed.”

(Matthew 16:1-4)

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.”

(Hebrews 11:1-2)

“Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

(John 20:29)

     Let me finish this admittedly brief discussion of miracles by saying that I do believe in them and I even believe that if God wills they can exist in this day. The problem is not that God has changed or that He no longer acts at all, it's that the ones who claim these miracles have so much about them that does not mesh with scripture. Silly 'miracles', wrong use of them, inaccurate prophecy, bad theology, horrible doctrine, and more. Not everyone in this movement is an extreme case, let me be clear that I don't meant to say that. I only mean to refocus our attention on the Bible and remind everyone that the given Word -alone- is our source of truth. Every thought, idea , and experience has to be brought to that measure and cast aside if it does not pass the test. We don't need to be excited and impressed to be faithful, we know ourselves and we ought to know God. We know who we would be without God. The power of that changed life is more than enough.

'The' Original Sin

     Sin. The thing that separates us from God. We were created as perfect beings, way back when.  In the days of Adam and Eve they were without fault and in perfect communion with God and each other. They had no reason to be ashamed of who and what they were and all was right and at peace, until sin. Until the day that Eve was deceived by the serpent and Adam chose what he knew was wrong, all was as it should be. No longer. Now we live separated from God by sin, in this world tainted by sin, in bodies ravaged by sin, and doomed to death caused by sin. We cannot escape it.

     What would you say is the worst of sin? If asked by a stranger which of the many instances and examples of sin was the supreme example of its evil, what would you say? Perhaps murder, with so many lives having been ended by it; millions of people removed from this life and cut down far before their term in life 'should be' complete. How about theft? Every day and in a million different places people take what is not theirs and leave others without. In many instances this leaves the robbed desolate, as what was taken was precious and the one from whom it was taken had little to begin with. Maybe lying, since it's a destruction or a distortion of the truth? How many lives have been hurt or destroyed by a lie believed? You might even think blasphemy, after all what could be worse than spitting in the face of God?

     While all of these are good suggestions, and I am sure you could think of a hundred more, I would personally suggest pride as the true origin of sin. How is pride so awful? How often are we told in scripture to think of others and how often are the selfless held up as examples? How often are we commanded to show deference to God and be thankful for what we have? Pride is what tells us that others matter less than ourselves or that they don't even matter at all. Pride puts self first and others, a distant second. Pride screams ME, when God says others. Pride is the heart of every sin. The murderer puts his desire to kill over the the right of another to live, the thief puts her desire to have over the rightful ownership of another, and the blasphemer puts his own authority in place of God's.

"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.”

(Isaiah 14:12-15)

     When we stop putting others first and especially when we push God out of His proper place, we open ourselves to a whole world of trouble. How difficult is it to love someone when they aren't fulfilling your conditions? How hard is it to forgive someone when all you care about is your own hurt? Pride is relentless. When you think you've beaten it, when you think you've really gotten it licked, that is the moment you'll find that it has appeared again. In my own life I find it so easy for pride to get a foothold. When you scoff at someone for not knowing something, when you're angry at someone for inconveniencing you, don't you see how that's all pride?

“Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble.”

(Proverbs 3:34)

“When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.”

(Proverbs 11:2)

     God wants us to love others, even our enemies, and to think of them first. Like the good Samaritan we are to seek the good of those around us even when no one else is willing to help. Let us all pray for a selfless spirit and a heart that fights against destructive pride. If you work on being happy with what you have and remembering that you are just another sinner saved by God's grace alone, you'll find that the faults in others don't bother you as they used to and that your time is worth less to you. Pride is the opposite of humility and the enemy of a righteous soul.

“A man's pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.”

(Proverbs 29:23)

“But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: 'God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.'"

(James 4:6)

And Who Am I to Speak?

I am reminded of how little I am. What do I think I'm doing with all these words? Who am I to speak to others and to tell them what truth is? I am no prophet nor am I some great man of God. My imperfections glare at me from the mirror and I know that I am so very little worth. I am no great scholar, I am no enlightened thinker, but what I have is the Word. That is all I or anyone else has to say that has any meaning. 774,746 words that contain anything of any eternal bearing or meaning or purpose. In the end I'm just finding new combinations of words to express ideas that God has already given to us.

In a way I guess I am a prophet. The job of the prophet has always been to take the words of God to the people. In times past those words were new and directly given, now we have them already recorded. Still the job remains the same. In that way, everyone who teaches is a prophet, and like a prophet of old, we all must be very careful not to get in the way. His words truth must not be mixed with my opinion, my thoughts must be shaped by His commands. When I write, when I speak, when I try to explain this text, then I must stay within that text. If I stray into uncharted lands then I am lost and worse than that, I may drag others with me. Remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees?

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Woe to you, blind guides...”

(Matthew 23:15-16)

Is that what we do as modern day teachers? Do we go about making disciples, teaching them what we believe, only to make them even more fit for a residence in eternal torment? How often do you examine yourself, how often do I, to make sure we are on the path? Can we check too often? Too much? Why do I never see the experts on TV or the Internet carrying Bibles? Why does the preacher always have one but the pundit does not? Do we really care if people see us as less of an authority because we have to read or look up a text? Wouldn't it be better to be accurate for sure then appear to have great knowledge?

I pray that I'm doing what I should be here. I pray that in taking up this mantle, for trying to teach the truth, that I am in fact doing just that. Dear God let my words reflect Your truth and may I not lead a single soul astray by my thoughts expressed. There is terror here if you understand what is at stake, but there is hope and comfort in Him. Like in all things our understanding of God helps us. I may hamper or hinder some poor soul by some errant teaching, but I will never be responsible for their salvation or damnation. No matter how well written the article I will never save anyone from hell and no matter how poorly I screw up a doctrine I can never damn anyone to it either. We are each of us responsible for our destiny and God will -will- save those who are His.

“And Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.'"

(John 6:35-40)

Use my words oh God, if You will. Though I can offer only a pitiful sacrifice. Keep me on a short leash, let me only say your Truth and Your words. Let me never lose sight of how little I am and how big You are; the awesome God who created and keeps all things, who has laid out the plan of creation and carries it out, who has given us the words of life (John 6:67-68). It's not much but all I have is all I can give. Like the song “So Great a Salvation“ from the O.C. Supertones: “I could never thank you enough, but here's my life for whatever it's worth.”

To Love and/or Condone

     Have you ever noticed that we as a people just can't seem to avoid extremes? Have you seen how we swing from one side to the other and nearly never find the happy medium? We spend a few years on one side of the tracks until someone notices a few problems and then we invariably throw the whole thing out and jump to the other side. Take for example the defense of the bullied and the 'oppressed.' The current culture and the internet culture especially seems all too ready to charge into battle and defend anyone we see as being put down or hurt or maligned. To a certain extent this is a good thing as humans have a natural tendency to attack the different and the unknown rather than learn about them. Even Christians have a hard time taking things for what they are and evaluating them in a more level-headed way. So often have we simply attacked sin and destroyed the sinner that the church has rather bad reputation now and many people would never dream of seeking help from the one place they should expect to find it!

     The culture as a whole seems obsessed now with defending the rights of others-or is it? Everywhere you go you'll find posters or .gifs or pithy comments or cute little comics about how we should all just be humans and not label or marginalize others. Although I agree that we should work to respect those around us, I suspect that one of the driving factors behind this movement is not some new found love for others but really a backseat effort to defend ourselves. Race and gender and nationality are all beyond debate but 'lifestyles' are all about the choice we make. We make a case that such and such group should be respected and then this other group and then this other group and pretty soon we have a hard time “judging” anyone and an easy time defending any lifestyle we want! I don't need to defend my sin if I can make a million people on the internet do it for me.

     More importantly I feel that we as a society have made a tragic error in our defense of the victims. We made the right choice at first; those who need help should not be ridiculed. We should foster an environment of love where we seek to help those who are in need of it and no one should have to face a life where they are daily bullied and beaten and accursed. That being said, we got so focused on the defense of these people that we up and forgot to keep in mind that sin is still sin and wrong is still wrong! Laziness, cowardice, homosexuality, “transgender-ism”, teen and unwed pregnancy, and so much more are problems, not lifestyles. God created reality as He intended and our sin has fouled up the works; that does not mean that we now get to define our reality, it means we have to work to keep our reality in line with the truth! We should do everything we can to help people who have made mistakes or who are trapped in sin or who have a condition that screws up their minds and emotions to the point they don't know who they are, but we have to remember that we are treating aberrant conditions and seeking to bring people back from them. If your doctor decided not to tell you about your cancer because he feared it would upset you, he would be considered a bad doctor who is failing in his duty. No one would remark on how caring he is or how much concern he has for the mental well being of his patients!

     In this post-modern world we like to think that everything is relative, even reality. The truth however, is that truth is a solid and unchanging thing not defined by anyone but God. It does not matter how you feel or how you were born because we know that this world is fallen and we cannot expect it to follow the line God has laid out. We must love those around us but to sacrifice truth for the sake of peace is not loving. We will love those in need most when we try to help their needs. The old adage may sound trite but I believe it still stands: hate the sin not the sinner.

Reflections On Waiting

     I have now been married for more than one year. It almost feels odd to say that, almost like it's not the reality I wake to. I've always wanted to get married, since my earliest memories. I remember feeling so depressed and lost as an even younger man because I saw no hope for this future. I would beg God to let me meet my one and only, to show me the way to the love I longed for. He always seemed so silent at those times. Looking back I see that God wasn't silent, He was quietly telling me “wait, wait, wait.” I can see now that it wasn't time yet, I wasn't ready and His plans hadn't come to fruition; but He did have a plan. I'm glad He made me wait. He had someone that He was preparing for me just as He was preparing me for her. Had my desire been answered I would have been with less than His best for me.

     I see this all the time in my life and in the lives of others. We want what we want and we want it now. It's not even just about greed or a lack of patience, I think we simply lack the ability to see or perhaps just ignore the possibility that getting something later can be better. We are convinced that we should have what we want or need at this moment and that any delay is damaging to us. Further, we tend to think of delays as punitive. I would have such and such thing or relationship if only I were a better Christian or read my Bible more or if I were more in line with His will for my life. So often we fail to see that maybe, just maybe, it is simply just not the time or the place for us to have something we desire.

     God often asks us to wait. In fact I think that through waiting we learn most of life's lessons. We learn patience and trust and contentedness and humility through waiting; and we often find other seemingly unrelated lessons being taught while we are waiting for something else to come about. Ultimately we all need to learn to just trust God. He will by no means turn us aside nor neglect our needs. God desires our ultimate good and He will achieve that by the best means and in the best time. Furthermore, as our heavenly Father He desires to give us good gifts. Just as our earthly fathers -if they are good- delight in giving things to their children so God has joy in bringing us joy in the things He gives.

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. "If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? "Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

(Luke 11:9-13)

     We need to get away from the now mentality. Everything will come in God's time and if in His wisdom it does not come to us then we need to trust His choice. That new job or that girl or that guy may be the worst thing for us or the worst thing for us now, though we may find joy in them. Trust and obey for theirs no other way to be happy in Jesus. His will will bring all good things in time.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

(Matthew 6:33)

What is Choice?

     What is the nature of free will? Are we all on this earth to simply dance to the beat of another's drum or do we make real choices? People have been pondering this question for probably as long as they've pondered at all and I can see why. We don't like to think that our lives our controlled by someone else and if we see that none of our choices matter than it leads to a depressing fatalism. So can we come to any meaningful understanding of this problem? I think we can.

     First off let's look at things from the naturalistic perspective, frankly because it's much simpler. If we are all just animals, meat machines, and more specifically if we are the end result of automatic process working as they have to ultimately culminating in the formation of man, then there is no choice. As Hawking pointed out we cannot avoid determinism if we come at life from this angle. There can be no transcendence in a world that evolved. If we are born of nothing but chemical reactions and the laws of physics and if nothing else exists to interact with this matter than nothing can ever happen but what is programmed into that material (so to speak). Every “choice” that you make is really just what your particular set of chemicals and structures has to do when encountering that situation. In this view all of existence is one big calculation, a series of equations where A + B will always equal C. Your personality, your beliefs, your choice of a job or a spouse, these things are all just illusions of sentience and the reality is that we are all just robots; DNA machines that run on a very complicated set of rules. Depressing isn't it?

You cannot cut the strings

     The problem with this ideology is that we do see glimpses of the transcendent in our lives. We are aware of what we are in a metaphysical, existential sense. This is where Christianity comes in. You see, in the Bible, we are shown to be more than just matter. Made from the dust of the earth God breathed life into us (Genesis 2:7) and made us a living thing. This is important because we see here two huge differences from how He made animals. First we were made 'from' something, unlike animals and the earth which were simply popped into existence by God's own power, we were formed from the “dust of the earth.” I'm sure there are ramifications and reasons for that but it's beyond my abilities to find them. The second and really more important bit is that our life was “breathed” into us by God directly. To me this connects us to God's Word which is described as “God breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16), and which is also described as being “alive” (Hebrews 4:12). Also we were made in the “image of God,” (Genesis 1:26) which obviously doesn't mean that we look like Him since God is spirit and has no set physical form (other than the humanity taken unto the Son, ie. Jesus). All of this points to a creation that is more than just the stuff it's made of, we are both physical and spiritual beings and this allows us the ability to look outside ourselves and to rise -just a bit- above our material.

We are more than the sum of our parts.

     It gets a bit more complicated from this point. You see, all of the previous stuff is quite clearly shown in the Bible but we also see that God has total control over His creation (1 Chronicles 29:11-12, Psalm 115:3, Isaiah 46:9-10, etc.). Many people have a hard time reconciling true free will with a being that can simply make you do whatever He pleases. Now I'm not going to get super deep here simply because there isn't time but I've done a lot of thinking on this over the years and I'll simply run you through my current conclusions. The short answer is that no you don't have free will. You do however have free choice, let me define that. Free will is the ability to do whatever you want, to make decisions and plan your life as you see fit. Honestly I don't see that as an option Biblicaly, we do seem to make choices and decisions but the ultimate outcome of those choices is far beyond our control. We can choose to obey or rebel against God but in the end we get heaven or hell and there is nothing we can do at that point to change our destination. I think what we have is what I call “Free Choice.” By that I mean that God has laid out His world and has given us options and we have the freedom to choose from those options. Obey or rebel, love this person or this other person or no one, this job or that job, school or no school, and on and on and on. These choices come to us and some are better than others and some are obviously where God would have us go but He doesn't necessarily force us down these more proper roads. Look at Jonah, God actually TOLD him what to do but he chose instead to run away. This is one way in which our choices can matter and how we can still be responsible for our sins. We chose, in a very real sense, to do that evil. We are always presented with options and we may not like them but they are there.

     When we speak of the big questions of salvation and sanctification, God is just doing what He wants to ultimately, and we can either choose to obey or to rebel. I think that when we move beyond the ultimate questions we have a lot of give and quite a bit of 'wiggle room.' God has plans and purposes but He made them with our personalities and preferences in mind, using us to tell His story so that we are truly involved in the telling; actors not puppets. We may say the wrong line or miss a cue every once and a while but we are right there on the stage. We have to be more than matter for anything we do to matter and our soul gives us that bit of transcendence.   

Have You?

Have you seen the sandman?

Have you seen the end of days?

Have you contemplated death

Or Have you stared at crashing waves.

Have you thought of death

and how it comes

to every one that breathes,

Have you wondered at our purpose

Are we frail as fallen leaves?

Have you realized that ultimately

Nothing matters much,

Have you seen that great importance

Can come from simple touch?

Have you thought of how

A world of chaos

struggles to entice?

Have you seen how little we all matter

no more significant than mice.

Have you realized that it takes a something

bigger than this stuff

to make it all important

to bring us more than pomp and fluff?

Have you sought the God of all the world

Have you heard His people call

Have you seen the messages He's left

on this tiny dusty ball?

Have you made the choice to die today

that you might live in Him?

Have you emptied out your heart

That He may fill it to the brim?

Have you contemplated pointlessness

Have you seen this dull world's lies

Have you seen the light from God above

Has He torn the world's disguise?

Has He made you a new creature,

different now and ever more,

Has He shown you precious glimpses

of all He has in store?

Has He shown you how true purpose

Exists only in eternity

Has He cast aside your fear and doubt,

Replaced with certainty.

Have you?

Has He?

Have We?

by. Jonathan Schaefer

09/29/14

To Know What We Can't See

It seems a bit odd to think that Christianity, with it's focus on the supernatural is quite a logical and fairly simple belief. There are very few categories of being and rather simple rules. We're not asked to perform herculean tasks nor undergo protracted journeys, we're told simply to seek out a closeness with God and to allow Him His due place in our lives. Ultimately we can see that although Christianity is a very spiritual faith, it is not a mystical one.

     The best evidence for this -I think- is the Bible. Let's just talk about it's existence for one. The Bible is the Word of God, 'God breathed' as the scriptures say. He didn't leave us without information. We needn't read tea leaves or master diving rods, learn spells or contact spirits, we have no reason to follow our instincts or intuition, we need only listen to what He has said! Read the book, we see glimpses of the past and of the future, we see the world of the spirit that is all around us, we are shown what that God is in control and that the chaotic world of other beliefs doesn't exist. Furthermore God has shown us exactly what He desires from us. Unlike other faiths where we are only told what to do, the Bible shows us a God who works with us and for us (meaning for our benefit not under our direction). We needn't fear tomorrow because He is the God of tomorrow, and today, and yesterday!

     The spiritual world, though mysterious, is also quite simple. We don't have a hierarchy of deities, we don't have various groups or beings, and we don't have several warring factions. We have God, His Angels, Satan, the Demons, and us. That is it! So many people want to make the spiritual so much more unusual and difficult, but really we have only two factions of two types of created beings. There are no other deities or powers to be concerned with and like the physical world there are only two camps: those with God and those against. Furthermore there are not mystical powers to be concerned with, objects hold no energy and can be neither good nor evil, angels and demons can only operate in prescribed manners, and with the exception of very obvious miracles God uses mostly mundane means to accomplish His goals. I understand the desire for a more “interesting” world but frankly it just isn't real.

     Reality as we see it and comprehend it falls under the same understanding of simplicity. We are not lost spiritual wanderers or recycled ghosts. We are not simple fauna animated by chance and electricity. We are not advanced animals haunted by false spiritual lies or burdened with impossible eternal purpose. We are created beings who have rebelled and are now worthy of wrath. Servants and slaves who threw off the mantle of the just King and pursued their own wicked desires. That same King who could have wiped us out and been completely justified, chose instead to save us. He chose to save us though it meant His own Son had to die. God chose to love us all, rather than kill us all.

   I want a simple life. I want to live where the only mystery is what tomorrow holds and maybe, what's for dinner. I'm so grateful we don't live in a world turned about by many a changing winds and tides, one where myriad powers vie for the control and praise of weak humanity. I'm so glad we have the path laid out for us and salvation and eternity granted to us if we would only follow. I'm glad for my God who loves me enough to die for me. I'm grateful for this simple, wonderful life.

The Two Reasons

     I was listening to Alistair Begg the other day, and he made an excellent point. There are ultimately only two reasons why anyone rejects the cross of Christ: either they consider themselves too good and have no need of a savior or they think themselves so horrid that God can do nothing with them. All the atheistic showboating aside, that's really what it boils down to. The amazing thing about Christianity is that unlike every other religion, Christ counters both perspectives. All the world religions foster one of two things; either pride in the works you have done toward 'heaven' or despair at your inability to do what you perceive must be done. Again, Christianity confronts and defeats both of these ideas.

     Lets look at pride and self fulfillment. Many of the world's beliefs will tell you that you have to work your way to heaven, that eternity is for those who earn it or that you are the author of the better you. All you need to do, they say, is follow these rules or fulfill these requirements or do this list of actions and -BAM- you're in heaven. The side effect of this mentality is pride, and why not? If I'm doing all this great stuff that makes me such a great or at least spiritually successful person why not think highly of myself? Well Christianity asks this question: what is the entry requirement for heaven? What's the answer? Complete and total perfection! All your works, all your efforts, all that stuff you hold up and think so highly of...pointless. Nothing you do and nothing you say will ever -EVER- be enough. Kind of kills any hope of personal pride doesn't it? This thought spits right in the face of self-fulfillment, you aren't good enough and you can't possibly be good enough.

     Now a look at sorrow and despair (which you may very well find yourself at given the previous paragraph). There are quit a few people that would say, “God can't possibly save me or want me, look at all that I've done!” First of all let me just say that although I'm sure many people actually think this way, I'm also certain that many others are simply masking pride with false humility. Their 'humility' is a way of being unique, “I'm so bad, not even God can help me,” and a way of deflecting having to actually think about things. Back to the point though, The Bible tells us that humanity is utterly depraved, sinful from its birth and incapable of saving itself; but it doesn't leave us there. We see that God uses that fact, the very idea that we are all totally sinful, as a means for hope! It's not just you. Everyone is impossibly far from God, there is no one who is closer and no one who is further away! God can do all things and you're sin makes you no less capable of receiving His grace than anyone else! When we understand that God's grace is meant for the hopeless we can see our sorrow turn to joy and our despair to gratitude.

     We see here one of the many wonderful and unique things about our faith, that God has answers for every perspective. That He has a plan for everyone and everything. He did not slack in His revelation nor did He forget what we would need. We cannot be prideful, it is all too apparent that we are far from perfect and in desperate need of a savior; but we need not despair, God is the hope for the hopeless and the shelter for the lost.