Longing for Egypt Because We Don't Long for Eternity

I think there is a part in all of us that longs for our own Egypt - the places we once were, the things we once did, and the enjoyments we once had. As we look back, we tend to block the bad and focus only on the good. Nostalgia has a tendency to overshadow previous pains that flowed out of our previous passions. Too often, it is the passions of the past that throw us into wishful thinking for the past, accompanied by discontentment with who we are and what we have, now.

This is all pretty reasonable. As life moves forward, the weight of responsibility grows. The pains of life increase. People around us die, argue, and divorce. Money is made and lost. Children grow up and struggle with life - a progression we attempt to protect with all our might. Some of their struggles are our fault. This we cannot take. Because we are sinners, our failures pile up - some of them have repercussions that will follow and taunt us the rest of our lives.

These shadows eclipse the thousands of mercies and joys we receive every day. Our natural bend, it seems, is to focus on the dark fabric of life, all the while the diamond of redemption shines directly upon our faces. We continually fail to realize that our Lord specializes in bringing treasure out of tribulation and tragedy.

We also fail to realize and recognize that, through this wilderness, a redemptive road winds. And that short road (though it seem long) ends in the Land of Promise. In a very real and practical way, we have no concept or expectation of this Land, nor the promise that secures it for us. Our perception of the promised future has little gravity compared to the greatness (again, in our perception) of our parochial past and present. Therefore, it rarely perceive it as feasible.

How many of us, while in agony or in a time of great temptation, have been truly comforted by the promised inheritance? How many have been prescribed reflection on eternity when seeking godly counsel? And how many of us have been counseled to hope upon heaven, only to toss the person's advice to the side as impersonal, unloving and impractical?

Unfortunately, hope for eternity does little to make us feel better.

Because of the present anxieties of our wilderness, we cannot fathom a future better than what we once had. We are all addicts of Egypt who chase the first high (Exod 16:1-3). Because of this, the Christian experience, in this life, is reduced to inconvenience. We do just enough to ease the discomfort of conscience - the discomfort that usually follows relapse.

But the remedy is so clear. The greatness of the Promised Land should be, and indeed is, enough to keep our eyes focused ahead. It should have enough gravity in our lives to draw us into obedient progress. When we do look back to Egypt, we should always see it through the historical Cross (Gal 6:14). We should always see just how bloody our Egypt was; and how our life there cost Christ his.

And when we look forward, we should be amazed to see a Land where the Lord promises pleasures and joys forever. No sin. No tears. Glorified body. Glorious relationships. Eternal and unselfish enjoyment of all possessions. Laughter that doesn't have to end. Intimacy that throws sex into extinction. Men will work without sweat and stress. Women will be loved without worry of abandonment. Our backs will not ache, nor will our brains forget. We will, Christian, be with our Lord, praising him together, with no less days than when we had first begun. All of this, and more, without end.

Egypt pails in comparison. Egypt is hell in comparison.

This is what makes a tough life now bearable. This is what makes loving difficult people worth it. This is what takes the stoicism out of sacrifice, and adds reward back to responsibility. Without hope for the future, there is no real reason to obey in the present. Without eternity, there is only Egypt.

Christ purchased for us an inheritance we cannot even come close to fully understanding. The Scriptures, however, are full of descriptions; and this life is full of glimpses - wives, children, churches, and good food, to name a few. By grace, I hope we can see that these great things are merely tastes of what's to come. By grace, I pray that we all long for an eternity that puts Egypt to shame. Only then will those who are now in Egypt be enticed to leave, and thus be with us in the Promised Land for eternity!

Thi'sl's New Album - Free From the Trap (Get it!)

I would highly recommend getting this new album Free From the Trap by Thi'sl. Thi'sl is probably my favorite artist among the current list of Christian rappers. It is well worth the money, as he gives an honest view of what life looks like in distressed communities - all from a Christian perspective. I am thankful that the Lord saved this man. I am thankful that he has called him to this ministry.

Repenting of Our Racism During Obama's Reelection

We are not that far removed from the civil rights movement. There are millions of people living in America who remember racial segregation, discrimination, and the acceptable injustice of racism. Now that the movement has ended, and holds its section in every elementary history book, we tend to think that racism is less of an issue. We tend to ignore its dangerous existence in our culture today.

We have, in many ways, given the civil rights movement too much credit. While it brought change in our civil laws, it failed to bring change (in every individual instance) to the human heart. In other words, just because the civil rights movement has come, doesn't mean racism has gone. It is alive and well, and to ignore its existence is nothing less than irresponsible.

Just one week ago, the stench of racism seeped out of my own heart. As I walked into the voting booth, I couldn't help noticing my minority status. Out of about a hundred people, I was one out of about ten caucasians. I immediately said to myself, "Obama will win." At that moment, I lumped every non-white individual into a corporate group who, I thought, would vote for Obama merely because he was black. I made an arbitrary, stereotypical, racial judgment. I was, at that time, a practicing racist.

To all of my African American friends, I repent. I am sorry.

My reason for writing, however, goes deeper than this. Should the stereotype (in many cases) be justified, I believe it is a facet of racism that keeps us from understanding the valid reasons people have for voting according to race - whoever the candidate may be, or whatever policies the candidate may hold. To see such a vote as completely unreasonable is indicative of our unwillingness to know and love our neighbor well. After all, making judgments according to race is easier and more convenient than making judgments according to a person's reasons.

I am a middle-class, white male. I have never been stopped by a police officer because I fit a profile. I have never been denied anything (that I know of) strictly because I belong to a particular racial group. I have never had someone I don't know call me a nigger - judging and categorizing me as a stupid, mindless, individual because of the color of my skin. And, I have never had anyone give me proverbial "pat on the head" because I actually could learn enough to graduate high school or even college.

I was not raised by a grandmother who was denied simple privileges like a water fountain, toilet, or seat on a bus, all because she was black. My grandfather was not hanged by southern white police officers. Nor did my grandparents ever have to put out a burning cross in their front yard.

I have never had to wonder if justice would be afforded me. I have always trusted my banker, my local police, my governor, and my president. I have never personally wondered if my civil authorities were safe or unsafe to approach when I was in need. I have never had to vitally consider the racial prejudice of those elected to protect me.

When police drive through my neighborhood, I feel safe. I feel no need to run. I have always thought the only reason people do run is because they are guilty. But I have never considered that some run because they don't want to be embarrassed in front of their family and friends; or have their possessions and/or time unjustly confiscated.

There is no one in my immediate lineage who has been forced to live and find solace in a marginalized, impoverished community where everyone is, by circumstance, a racial refugee. I have never been denied viable employment because of my skin tone, and therefore have never been put in a position to find the cheapest property available - cheap only because people like me live there.

Perhaps most significantly, I have never been desperate for a just and authoritative advocate - someone on the outside who could pull me out. Someone who could speak on my behalf and communicate to others that I am also human, valuable, intelligent, and more beautifully complex than the color of my skin.

Because I have never been racially oppressed in these ways, I have never longed for an authoritative advocate who looked like me - whose existence in the outside, authoritative, non-marginalized world, meant that there was a ray of sun shinning through the dark clouds of oppression.

Never having been individually oppressed because of my racial identity, I have never been forced to see my racial community as the only safe community or family. If I were a black man, and had experienced all of the above, I am sure I would see life and politics through very different eyes - eyes that must see color first as a means of survival. And I am sure I would be more inclined to see the possibility and reality of a black president very differently as well.

His presence might very well mean more to me than his policies. And I would probably focus more on his color than his conduct. Right or wrong, I'd probably be conditioned to think this way. Right or wrong, these are reasons - valid reasons - why people may vote through a racial lens.

They are reasons that the white community must understand, as well as embrace as being brought about, at least in part, by our own history of corporate racism. If we fail to understand, repent, and love, we may slip into another cultural setting where a racial movement is mandated.

Propaganda - Free Album You Must Get!

This amazing album from Propaganda is available for free download here.  You really need to get it.  I personally like "Precious Puritans" as it is thoughtful and awakens our culture to one of its most dangerous blind spots.

Thanks AV for letting me know about this!!!

I have also added the GOSPEL by Propaganda below.  Be blessed!

The Reformed African American Network (Check it Out!!)

Too often it is said that Christianity is the white man's religion. Those who believe in Christ, they say, are intolerant, dogmatic, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, white guys who live to impose their religious beliefs on the rest of the world. This may be hyperbolic language, but it is not unjustified. I have heard it with my own ears.

Of course, the statement is not completely true. From the beginning, Christianity has been a religion for the nations. And even when it was "just for the Jews", it was really for the world, through the Jews.

But I must confess. While I may reject the indictment that Christianity is the white man's religion, there are significant parts of my life that invite it. I may say that Christianity is for all peoples and has been lived out and promoted by all peoples, but I have not embraced this truth in many significant parts of my Christian education and practice.

I don't believe I am alone. For some time, middle-upper class white evangelicals have believed that they are the only significant, right, articulators of theology - especially Reformed Theology. And like I said before, I don't believe any one of us would say this, but we do believe it.

Take a look at your book shelf or blogroll. What percentage are white (or, Anglo) authors? What percentage are African-American, Mexican, Latin American, African, or Asian? I haven't conducted a survey, but I'd be willing to bet, from the libraries I have seen (even my own!), that the majority of our theological learning comes from the white community.

I don't believe that this is malicious in nature or overtly racial. White authors, because of many factors (good and bad), have probably published and produced more material. But is this a good excuse? Shouldn't we be seeking out different cultural perspectives on theology? Shouldn't we be promoting and subsidizing multicultural theological expressions? Do we not see the cultural one-sidedness of our own theological framework?

Without the significant theological insights from multicultural communities, can we really say we are Reformed? Don't we realize that Reformed Theology is not just written doctrinal truths, but also the existential expressions of those doctrines in every culture and among all people groups under heaven?

If you are looking at your bookshelf and blogroll, and notice an absence of multicultural influence, there is no need to despair. I have good news for you today. I'd like to introduce you to RAAN.

The Reformed African American Network (RAAN) is a great organization that seeks to faithfully share and express Reformed Theology from an African American perspective. It's purpose is to "fuel the modern reformation in the African American community and the multi-ethnic nation beyond."

RAAN is a great resource for all peoples. It allows us to gain tremendous theological insights from the African American perspective. In short, I believe RAAN will add much needed color to our modern Reformed tradition.

Below is a video from the founders of RAAN explaining what the organization is all about. I hope you will make this network a part of your regular theological diet. I pray that it would be a significant means by which the Lord's church "continually reforms."

Mopping Up the Bloody Mess

Every sin, no matter how small, creates a chasm between us and the other that we are not able to cross. Every transgression makes a mess that we are ill-equipped to clean up. Sin is something so easy to do, but it is impossible to repair. With our actions we fracture other people so badly that even the best of our actions would never restore the relationship to what it once was.

When we sin, we are like a child who just burned down our home - completely guilty and completely helpless. A small action by small fingers, lights a match that burns a big house down.

We don't really believe this though do we? Some sins, like adultery or murder are obviously "that bad." But other sins like lying or lusting are, well, not "that bad." Most of the time we don't notice how bad they are until we are found out by another individual. We see the damage in the tears or expressions of the person against whom we have transgressed.

Because we don't believe the devastating nature of sin, we leave the mess unaddressed - like a husband who expects his wife to be okay after he lets her know he doesn't plan on committing adultery any more; like a wife who simply disciplines herself out of the habit of gossip; and like a college student who reads a book on procrastination in an effort to break the cycle.

We have fooled ourselves into thinking if we stop the behavior the mess will go away. Our right actions will mop the bloody floor. We actually think that we can make the [burned] house come back by saying, "I won't play with fire ever again."

Once more, all of these actions fail to recognize the personal nature of sin - that, though we are in control to commit the sin, we surrender our control (by that very action) to repair it. Once the deed is done, we are completely at the mercy of the other to make things right. Nothing we do will do - no matter how good that doing may be.

Sin makes us, for all practical purposes, dead - and desperate. The life we need must come from the person we have deeply offended. It is their blood on the floor. Our bloody mop has only spread it around. Only their clean mop will do.

And that is why the gospel is so good. Christ, in his great mercy, mops up our mess. He repairs the breech and crosses the chasm. His cleanness takes away our dirtiness. His death brings us life. He personally restores things beyond what they once were. He makes us new.

Changing behavior will never work. Only honest repentance and full reliance upon the person and work of Christ can cure the curse of sin. This is why a change in countenance tends to bring about forgiveness more than change in behavior. This is why we can be both sinner and saint. Humble repentance and faith is the way of life. Christ is the good news we all must hear, love, and proclaim.

One of the Best Albums I Own

Please allow me to recommend to you one of the best albums I own. For years it has played in the background of my studies and prayers. And, it was created by one of my dearest friends.

You can now get Still Waters by Jeremy Mayfield on Amazon.  It is nothing more than Jeremy at the piano; but nothing less than magnificent. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!